The Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres face off on Monday in an MLB showdown at Petco Park.
The Diamondbacks come into this game with a 64-69 record overall and they have won three of their last four games. On Sunday it was strong pitching that was the difference on the way to the victory. The Diamondbacks are averaging 4.44 runs per game which is 13th in the league. Christian Walker has been the top player for the Diamondbacks hitting 31 home runs and driving in 75 RBIs.
The Padres come into this game with a 74-61 record overall and they lost two of three over the weekend against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Padres offense hasn’t lived up to the talent. They are averaging 4.43 runs per game which is 14th in the league. Manny Machado has hit 26 home runs and driven in 88 RBIs so far this season. They are facing off against a quarterback who is making his first major league start and they are going to need to get the offense going here. This is a game they need to treat like a must win.
On the mound for the Diamondbacks will be Ryne Nelson and he has been promoted from the minors to make this start.
On the mound for the Padres will be Blake Snell who sits with a 6-7 record and a 3.87 ERA. In his last start against the San Francisco Giants, he went six innings giving up four hits and zero runs.
The Diamondbacks are 4-0 in their last four games during Game 1 of a series. The Padres are 5-1 in their last six games against a left-handed starter. The under is 4-0 in the Padres last four home games. The over is 5-1 in the Padres last six overall.
Snell is coming off a start where he gave up zero runs, and I expect he is going to continue the success here. I don’t trust this Diamondbacks offense and that is going to be the difference here as the Padres get the job done. Back the Padres -1.5.