Rangers vs Padres Betting Odds: Is San Diego Nearing a Sell-Off?

The San Diego Padres will host the first-place Texas Rangers for a key three-game interleague series, starting Friday. For the series opener, San Diego is -1.5 (+120) on the run line and a -154 favorite to win outright, with Texas priced at +139. The projected total is 8.5, with the Under juiced to -120.

Read on as we break down both teams in our Rangers vs Padres betting preview.

Padres Preparing to Sell?

At 49-54, the San Diego Padres have distinguished themselves as one of baseball’s biggest disappointments. Despite a Top 5 payroll, the Padres sit 10.0 games back in the National League West and 6.5 back in the wild card. After dropping a series to the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego could very well be on the verge of a breakup.

Ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline, the Padres are reportedly considering dealing Josh Hader and Blake Snell. It’d be a bold move, but one that may be necessary given the club’s failures. The Padres entered the season as one of the World Series favorites at +1000. Those odds have since ballooned to +4000. They’re now also +275 to make the postseason and -350 to miss it.

Adding injury to insult, outfielder Juan Soto was slated to undergo an MRI Thursday on his right middle finger. The finger has reportedly been bothering the three-time All-Star since spring training. Soto has continued to produce despite that, hitting .262 with 20 homers, 62 RBI, and a .918 OPS, which ranks seventh in MLB. That includes a .909 OPS in July. Soto’s status is worth monitoring when assessing the Rangers vs Padres betting odds.

First-Place Texas Waiting on Seager

The Texas Rangers salvaged their three-game series with the rival Houston Astros on Wednesday, winning 13-5 to avoid being swept. In doing so, the Rangers managed to maintain a 2.0-game lead over Houston atop the American League West.

Will they stay there? It’s certainly possible. Texas’ lineup, fueled by five All-Stars, is among the most potent in baseball. The Rangers lead the majors in both runs and batting average and have slugged the fifth-most homers. They also own baseball’s best run differential at plus-157, indicating they’re a legitimate contender in the Major League Baseball standings.

Texas is still missing a key piece in shortstop Corey Seager. Seager, who is hitting .350 with 15 homers, 58 RBI, and a robust 1.044 OPS, was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a sprained right thumb. He suffered the injury on a headfirst slide last week against his old team, the Los Angeles Dodgers. This is already Seager’s second stint on the IL, as he missed 31 games earlier this season with a left hamstring strain. The Rangers went 19-12 in his absence.

Since the injury, Ezequiel Duran has started at shortstop in Seager’s place.

Odds Outlook

Texas has been among the most profitable teams for bettors, as MLB betting trends will show. Its 61-42 record against the run line is the third-best in baseball, trailing only the Cincinnati Reds (67-37) and Baltimore Orioles (61-41). Conversely, San Diego is just 50-53 ATS. Additionally, the Rangers have covered the Over 56.8% of the time, compared to 43.8% for the Padres. That’s important to remember when assessing the Rangers vs Padres betting odds.

Musgrove is 9-3 with a 3.25 ERA. The right-hander has been terrific in July, with a 1.80 ERA across four starts. He opposes Dunning, who is 8-3 with a 3.18 ERA. He’s coming off a rough outing against the Los Angeles Dodgers, in which he allowed five runs over three innings in a 16-3 loss on Saturday.

After inking a six-year, $108 million extension over the offseason, the 36-year-old Darvish has struggled to recapture his All-Star form. Darvish’s 4.80 ERA is the second-highest of his career. Home runs (15 allowed in 101.1 innings) have been an issue. His counterpart, Perez, has also struggled. On the heels of an AL All-Star appearance in 2022, the left-hander is 8-3 but owns a 4.91 ERA and 1.49 WHIP, per MLB stats.

Baseball’s top two leaders in ERA will square off in the series finale. Snell is 7-8 with an MLB-best 2.61 ERA and ranks sixth in strikeouts with 147. The left-hander is now +300 to win NL Cy Young, a smidge behind co-favorites Spencer Strider and Zac Gallen at +250. Snell is a candidate to be traded ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline. The Rangers will counter with Eovaldi, who is among six pitchers tied for the MLB lead with 11 wins. The right-hander also leads the AL with a 2.69 ERA and is second with a 1.01 WHIP.

The Rangers had skipped Eovaldi in the rotation after seeing his velocity dip. His last start came July 18 against Tampa Bay, a 5-3 win in which he threw six shutout innings. He is currently +650 for the AL Cy Young, behind only Gerrit Cole (+175), Shane McClanahan (+400), and Framber Valdez (+400).

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