The Arizona Diamondbacks try to bounce back from a loss when they open a four-game weekend series with the visiting San Diego Padres on Thursday night. Arizona had a three-game winning streak snapped with a 14-5 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday but is still atop the MLB standings in the NL West by two games over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
San Diego ended its three-game losing streak with a 1-0 win over the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday, pulling to within a half-game of the second-place Dodgers in the division race.
These two division rivals have already split a pair of games this season, so let’s get a closer look at this game before we make our Padres vs Diamondbacks prediction.
San Diego Padres vs. Arizona Diamondbacks Odds
Moneyline: When deciding on your MLB picks, you can look at the odds and find the visiting Padres favored in this one, as they’re listed at -133 on the moneyline, compared to the Diamondbacks at +123.
Run Line: If you want to bet the run line, you can get +120 odds if you take the Padres giving 1.5 runs, or -140 odds if you take the Diamondbacks getting those runs.
Over/Under: The over/under for the game is set at 9.5 runs, with -115 odds on the over and -105 odds on the under if you’re making that wager part of your Padres vs Diamondbacks prediction.
San Diego Padres vs. Arizona Diamondbacks Information
San Diego Padres vs Arizona Diamondbacks
Location of the Game: Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ.
Date and Time: Thursday, April 20, 2023, 9:40 PM ET.
How to Watch: ESPN+
San Diego Padres vs. Arizona Diamondbacks Betting Preview
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres game today must be different as far as their offense if they’re going to come away with a win. San Diego has scored a total of two runs over its last four games, a span that followed a 10-run outing against Milwaukee on Saturday.
Outfielder Juan Soto’s solo home run accounted for the Padres’ only run in Wednesday’s win, but the All-Star has been struggling this season. Usually among the leaders in MLB player stats for batting, Soto is hitting just .194 this season, though he does have four home runs and nine RBIs.
Right-hander Michael Wacha will get the start for San Diego on Thursday, his fourth of the season. Wacha is 2-1 with a 6.06 ERA, striking out 15 over 16.5 innings. He’s coming off an ugly loss to Milwaukee on Friday, allowing seven runs on 11 hits, including two home runs, over 4.5 innings.
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks have been one of the surprise MLB teams in the early going of the MLB schedule despite ranking in the bottom third of baseball in team ERA. Right-hander Ryne Nelson will try to improve upon that standing when he makes his fourth start of the season on Thursday.
Nelson is 1-0 with a 3.71 ERA this season. He took a no-decision in his last outing, going six innings against the Miami Marlins on Saturday and allowing one earned run on five hits.
There are a number of Arizona Diamondbacks players who have been doing well at the plate this season, including third baseman Josh Rojas, who is batting a team-best .322. Rojas had a rough outing on Wednesday, going 0-for-5 at the plate with three strikeouts.
First baseman Christian Walker has been productive with 11 RBIs and five extra-base hits in 2023, but he’s batting just .194 on the season. The MLB injury report doesn’t have any Diamondbacks players on it, and the team is hoping that luck will continue going forward.
San Diego Padres vs. Arizona Diamondbacks Betting Picks
This will be one of the key MLB games of the day, with Arizona trying to keep their early-season momentum going against a division rival.
The Padres are among the teams favored to win the National League this season, and it seems like just a matter of time before they break out, but we like Arizona to come on top in this one when we make our Padres vs Diamondbacks prediction.
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