Two rivals trending in opposite directions this season meet as the Padres and Giants continue a three-game series in San Francisco Wednesday night. San Diego sends young Chris Paddack to the hill Wednesday to try and take the series against veteran Johnny Cueto for the Giants. Who do we like for our free MLB pick?
MLB Betting Odds
Wednesday’s MLB betting odds opened San Diego and Paddack at around -175 over San Fran and Cueto, with an over/under of eight runs. Both those figures were holding steady in early betting action.
Padres vs. Giants Set-Up
San Diego took the opener of this series Tuesday night 5-3, winning as a -145 favorite on the MLB betting line and covering against the run line at a price of +110. The Padres spotted San Francisco the first run of the game, then got a three-run homer from Fernando Tatis, Jr. in the third inning and two-run dinger from Wil Myers in the fourth to take control, and held on from there.
Tuesday’s game also stayed under its total of nine runs.
San Diego opened this season by taking three of four games from Arizona last weekend.
The Giants opened their season by splitting four games with the Dodgers in Los Angeles.
Last year San Francisco took the season series from San Diego 10 games to nine.
On a personnel note, the Giants are playing without C Buster Posey, who chose to sit out this season, and 3B Evan Longoria and 1B Brandon Belt are both out with injuries.
Wednesday’s Starting Arms
Cueto is 1/1 on quality starts this season. Last Thursday, he held the Dodgers to one run on five hits through four innings, with one walk and three strikeouts. Unfortunately, that game got away from the Giants after Cueto departed, resulting in an 8-1 loss.
Cueto is trying to bounce back with a healthy season this year after being limited to just four starts last year.
Cueto last faced the Padres back in 2017, when over three starts he gave up nine runs and 23 hits through 16 innings. And yet the Giants won all three of those games.
Paddack is also 1/1 on quality starts this season. Last Friday, he held the Diamondbacks scoreless on four hits through six innings of a 7-2 San Diego victory, with one walk and four strikeouts.
Last year, as a rookie, Paddack hit 10/26 on quality starts. But he was much better than that ratio might indicate, posting a 0.98 WHIP and a 153/31 K/BB split.
The Padres, who finished 22 games under .500 last year, played 14-12 with Paddack.
Over three starts last year against San Francisco Paddack allowed five runs and 13 hits over 17 innings, with two walks and 21 strikeouts. The Padres won two of those three games.
Wednesday’s Batting Splits
San Diego batted just .234 last year against right-handed pitching, with a .301 team OBP and a .404 team slugging percentage. But Padres’ sticks are off to a good start this season, scoring at least five runs in four of their first five games.
San Francisco batted .236/.301/.394 last year against RH pitching. Giants sticks are also off to a slow start this season, scoring three runs or less in four of their five games.
The Bullpens
The San Diego bullpen has allowed six runs and 12 hits through 20 1/3 innings of work this season.
The San Francisco pen, thanks to two bad outings vs. the Dodgers last weekend, has allowed 17 runs and 24 hits through 26 innings this season.
MLB Betting Trends
- San Diego played 34-47 on the road last season.
- San Francisco played 35-46 at home last season.
- San Diego played 56-70 against right-handed starters last year.
- San Francisco played 57-56 against RH starters last year.
Totals Report
Unders are 4-1 in Padres games this season.
Unders are 3-1-1 in Giants games this season.
Totals split 9-9 in Padres-Giants games last season.
- Get more details: San Diego at San Francisco MLB Match-up Stats
