MLB: The San Diego Padres are worth a look
MLB: The San Diego Padres are worth a look
It’s not everyday during the baseball season this year, the sports bettor opens up his computer and sees the other NL team from Southern California as a potential investment, especially when Jake Peavy or Chris Young are not the listed starting pitchers.2009-05-21
It’s not everyday during the baseball season this year, the sports bettor opens up his computer and sees the other NL team from Southern California as a potential investment, especially when Jake Peavy or Chris Young are not the listed starting pitchers. Nevertheless, strange occurrences are common during a long baseball season and this sets up as one of them. With that in mind, let’s take a look at what San Diego has going for it as a home favorite tonight vs. the Giants. Get the latest line on the LIVE ODDS page.
After starting the year 9-3, San Diego (17-22, -4.1 units) went on to lose 19 of next 23 games. Not unexpectedly, the Padres have lacked offense, scoring 3.8 runs per game, thanks to .234 team batting average and equally disturbing .310 on-base percentage. The fact is they just don’t have enough good hitters that will allow them to put together consistent attack.
Despite these shortcomings, San Diego is 12-6 at Petco Park, thanks to shutdown bullpen, who has 2.51 ERA at home (compared to over six on the road). The Friars have put together another nice little streak, having won four in a row.
The Padres will start Chad Gaudin (0-3, 4.91, 1.545 WHIP) who has worked out of the bullpen and started this season. He’s been part of the regular rotation of late and that is where he’s picked up his three losses and been even less effective with 6. 35 ERA. About the lone bright spot about Gaudin is he’s not been taken deep in 22 innings of work.
San Francisco (19-19, +0.3) suffers from a similar malady as San Diego, a lack of offense. The Giants are 14th in runs scored this season, just ahead of Arizona and San Diego and have a power outage. To this point of the season, the average National League team has 38 home runs as a team, San Francisco has just 20, the worst in baseball.
With a 6-11 road record and losers of five of last six, the Giants will hand the ball to Jonathan Sanchez (1-3, 5.06, 1.719), who is 0-2 with a 7.98 ERA in his last three starts and WHIP of 2.249. In Sanchez last three outings, he’s given up 20 hits and 13 runs, in 14 2/3 innings and been wild to boot with 13 walks. San Fran has lost 15 of the lefthander’s last 21 starts.
Sportsbook.com has San Diego as -136 money line favorites, with total Un8 and the Padres fit a super situation.
Play Against road underdogs with a money line of +100 or higher, who are poor power team (averaging less than a homer per game), against a starting pitcher who gives up less than one long ball every two starts, with a cold starting pitcher, whose WHIP is 2.000 or higher over his last three starts.
That is a mouthful, but the results are superb. This system is 35-6, 85.4 percent since 2004. These games have tended to be blowouts, with the play against team losing by 3.1 runs per game. With San Diego finding ways to win and the Giants 3-10 as an underdog, the Padres deserve some consideration on Hump Day.