Diamondbacks vs. Padres prediction and odds for Friday, Aug. 18 (Arizona undervalued)

The Diamondbacks continue to separate from its foes in the NL West amidst a heated Wild Card race in the San Diego Padres.

While San Diego bolsters a pricey roster with star studded names, it's the D-Backs who have been the far superior team this season, four games ahead in the standings. The team will hope that it can get a decent start from Brnadon Pfaadt against struggling Padres starter Seth Lugo.

What can we expect on Friday night? Here are the odds:

Diamondbacks vs. Padres odds, run line and total

Diamondbacks vs. Padres prediction and pick

The Padres continue to be overvalued and I'll happily fade them again.

San Diego's starter Seth Lugo has struggled mightily this season. The right hander has an ERA sitting at 4.16, slightly better than expectation at 4.35, but he has allowed a ton of hard contact, allowing opponents to hit .319 on balls in play.

While the Diamondbacks offense has cooled off considerably over the course of the season, the team still outpaces the Padres lineup. Arizona is hitting .254 as a lineup this season while San Diego sits at .240. The key for the Padres lineup this season has been its ability to generate walks, one of two teams that have a walk rate north of 10%.

However, Pfaadt should be in good shape against the Padres. His ERA looks concerning at 6.91, but his xERA is far lower at 5.11. Further, he walks less than three batters per nine innings, meaning that he should limit the Padres primary point of attack.

This number is far too wide considering the difference between the two teams, I'll back Arizona as underdogs.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.