D’Backs vs Padres Betting Preview: What Happened To Arizona?

The NL West hasn’t played out exactly how many anticipated this year. The Diamondbacks and Padres are below the MLB National League standings and wouldn’t make the playoffs if the season ended today.

Arizona didn’t have high expectations early. But after a tremendous first half, the Diamondbacks had some believers. Instead, they’re 3.5 games out of the NL Wild Card and have already fallen below .500 in August.

On the other hand, the Padres were one of the MLB’s biggest spenders in the offseason, despite the spending. The Padres have a losing record in the middle of August.

Look at the D’Backs vs Padres betting preview for the four-game series between NL West teams.

Juan Soto’s Potential Extension

Despite the Padres’ struggles this year, San Diego is looking to lock up Juan Soto long-term. An MLB insider indicated that the Padres are still trying to work out a contract extension with Juan Soto so that he can remain a Padre.

San Diego has been aggressive all season in getting Soto to sign long-term. His contract expires after the 2024 season. Therefore, the Padres would rather not risk letting him walk after 2024 without any return.

Soto will still be with San Diego next year. The Padres want him to be locked up beyond 2024.

In 2023, Soto hasn’t performed at a premium level. But he’s still hit 24 home runs and has 75 RBIs this MLB season. There’s a high chance that Soto will finish the season with 30+ home runs and 100+ RBIs.

He’s currently holding a 4.1 WAR, which would be his third-best WAR throughout his career if things stayed the same.

Although Soto has been in the league since 2018, you must remember that he’s only 24. Soto still has time to develop and become even better than he’s been.

It would be in San Diego’s best interest to retain Soto. But they’ll have to pay up for the 24-year-old.

A Drastic Downfall for Arizona

The Arizona Diamondbacks have lost more than 30 games after leading this season. Arizona’s bullpen has been far from perfect this season.

The bullpen management hasn’t been superb. But the bullpen also doesn’t have that much talent. Manager Torey Lovullo even mentioned that Arizona’s chances at winning a Wild Card spot don’t look good.

The starting rotation for the Diamondbacks has started to develop. Zac Gallen has pitched like an NL Cy Young candidate, and Merrill Kelly has always been dependable with the Diamondbacks.

But Lovullo hasn’t allowed his starters to go deeper in games when pitching gems. He goes to the bullpen and watches leads dwindle. You’d think he’d adjust by now. But he hasn’t, and fans aren’t happy about it.

The bullpen has pushed the Diamondbacks away from a playoff spot.

Look at the D’Backs vs Padres betting preview for the four-game series over the weekend.

In the D’Backs vs Padres series’ first game, Zac Gallen will start things for the Diamondbacks. He’s struck out 27.8% of batters and has only walked 4.8% over the last 30 days. He’s also limited teams to a comfortable .307 wOBA and has earned nearly 45% of grounders in that span.

On the other hand, Rich Hill will get the start in this one for the Padres. Hill has allowed a .250 ISO and wOBA of .422 against his last 105 batters. His strikeouts have also dipped to 18.1% over the previous month.

Arizona is getting a lot of production out of Ketel Marte and Christian Walker against lefties, but other than that, they’ve been weak. The Diamondbacks will limit strikeouts against Rich Hill, but they’re not getting good contact.

Meanwhile, the Padres have hit a .206 ISO and wOBA of .342 against righties over the last 30 days. Those are good numbers, but Gallen has outpitched Hill throughout the season. It should stay that way in this game.

The Padres are +110 against the Diamondbacks, with the total sitting at 8.5. The Under is juiced to -115 in the first game of our D’Backs vs Padres betting preview. The Diamondbacks could be one of the best MLB bets today in Game 1.

In the second game of the D’Backs vs Padres betting preview, the Diamondbacks will pitch rookie right-hander Brandon Pfaadt. He’s earned nearly 24% of strikeouts over the last month and has kept walks down. He’s had multiple stints in the majors. But he’s performed much higher since coming up in his second stint.

PfaAdt has earned 23.9% whiffs and 12.1% of swinging strikes over the last month.

Pfaadt will take on Seth Lugo of the Padres. Lugo has earned over 25% of strikeouts and has kept walks below 6%. Still, he’s allowed a .279 ISO and wOBA of .371 to his last 139 batters. That production is mainly from left-handed batters.

Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks are getting production from Marte and Corbin Carroll, who are both lefties. Righties like Christian Walker and Lourdes Gurriel Jr.. are also hitting above-average ISO and wOBA numbers over the last month against righties.

This matchup favors the Padres, but Pfaadt’s growth continues to impress. Eventually, he’ll be a legitimate ace for the Diamondbacks. Just give it time.

The veteran righty, Merrill Kelly, will get the call for Game 3. Kelly’s strikeouts have dipped recently, but he’s still held his last 98 batters to a .110 ISO and wOBA of .299. Kelly has been incredibly consistent for the Diamondbacks this season, earning nearly 46% of grounders while holding teams to just 24% of fly balls.

On the other hand, it’ll be Yu Darvish for the Padres. Darvish has been terrific against righties but has allowed a .300 ISO and wOBA of .375 to his last 56 lefties.

Kelly has outshined Darvish over the last month and throughout the year. But this should be one of those low-scoring baseball scores on Saturday.

It’s unknown which direction the Diamondbacks will go with their starting pitcher in Game 4. This could realistically become a bullpen game for the Diamondbacks.

Meanwhile, Michael Wacha will get the call for the Padres. That’s confirmed. Wacha returned to the bump against the Orioles earlier this week after a stint on the injured list. He went five innings and earned five strikeouts without allowing a run. He allowed three hits and a walk and had a WHIP below 1.00.

Wacha is a veteran pitcher who continues to be successful in the Big Leagues. Ww will back the Padres in the finale.

For MLB betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.

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