Padres vs Dodgers Odds Preview: MLB Divisional Clash
This Series Could Have Been So Much MoreÂ
The San Diego Padres (67-77) spent north of $253 million to compete with the Los Angeles Dodgers (87-55), and all that got them was a 21-game deficit in the National League West MLB divisional standings, eight games out of a wild card spot. The Friars will send Pedro Avila (1-2, 2.19) to the hill against Gavin Stone (1-0, 10.50) for the Dodgers. The ‘Blue Crew’ opened as a -165 home favorite with a total of 9.5 Let’s start our Padres vs Dodgers odds preview with a deeper look at both teams from a betting perspective.
Padres Continue Horrific Run After Break
For five days in 2023, the San Diego Padres were in first place in 2023, not exactly what the Gaslamp District was hoping for in the Spring. For a club that spent the third most in baseball on payroll, they netted them a total of three days over .500 while never winning more than three games in a row. Since the trade deadline, the Padres are 15-22 bolstered by an 0-11 mark in extra innings.
What does all of that mean for bettors besides the obvious? It simply means that a bet on San Diego would be a wager on a team that lacks killer that killer instinct to be great. They never gelled together as a club no matter how many moves the club has made through the years. Over the last three seasons, no team has taken more money away from bettors with an overall record of 234-233 (-64.30 units).
The next worst betting option was the Kansas City Royals (183-293) which cost bettors -51.57 units. The latter is just because they’re a bad organization that refuses to spend. The Padres will start Pedro Avila, who has six career starts under his belt, three in 2023.
San Diego is 1-2 when the Venezuelan starts. His best start was his last when he threw 6.2 innings of shutout baseball against the Phillies in a Padres 8-0 win. Let’s continue our Padres vs Dodgers odds preview by putting the spotlight on Los Angeles.
Dodging A Smooth Ride Into October
Los Angeles has lost 4 of their last six games but may be finding their way again with the San Diego Padres coming to town, a team they’ve dominated in 2023 with eight wins in 10 meetings. Of late the starting rotation has started to show some cracks starting with Clayton Kershaw who has been the subject of rumors that his health was a question.
We’re in the business of making MLB predictions, and we think that pushing his latest start back from Monday to Friday against Seattle is part of the tightrope act that managers have to walk with their team locked into the position they’ll be heading into the postseason. Yes, the velocity is down after battling through a shoulder injury last month but we’d be shocked if Kershaw isn’t pitching at full strength in the postseason.
Tonight, LA will lean on Gavin Stone who is a AAA call-up from Oklahoma City. Stone, who has not started a game since May 28th, will be making his fourth start this season with the parent club. Let’s conclude our Padres vs Dodgers odds preview with our official prediction.
Don’t Go Against What You Know in September
Baseball scores late in September pretty much go the way you would expect. For bettors, that means not getting caught up in revenge spots or what appears to be an attractive plus-money option. We don’t want to cross our fingers and hope that something that hasn’t happened over the previous five months will all of a sudden come to fruition.
Los Angeles has dominated San Diego for years and we’re not going against that trend tonight. With 69% of the money wagered coming in on Los Angeles, it appears that the public has lost all trust in a Padres team that was once backed heavily in games against Los Angeles. Interestingly, 90% of the tickets written are on the Dodgers but the line hasn’t moved off its open of -165.
We’re going to go one further by laying the run-line (-1.5) to get a small plus price in return (+110) with the Dodgers, making that our official selection. That does it for our Padres vs Dodgers odds preview, we wish you all the best with your wagers down the stretch.
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