Diamondbacks vs. Padres prediction and odds for Thursday, Aug. 17 (Trust Arizona on road)
The D-Backs are hanging onto the Wild Card conversation, and need a Cy Young outing from Zac Gallen on Thursday to keep pace.
By Reed Wallach
The Arizona Diamondbacks are no longer in first place in the NL West and now fighting to stay above .500 while in the mix for the final NL Wild Card spot.
It's been a fall from grace for Arizona but the team is still in position to compete for a postseason berth, tied for the final Wild Card spot. The team will hope to jump ahead with Cy Young candidate Zac Gallen on the mound on Thursday against the San Diego Padres.
Here are the odds for Thursday's series opener:
Diamondbacks vs. Padres odds, run line and total
Diamondbacks vs. Padres prediction and pick
Gallen has been on a tear all season long, pitching to a 3.24 ERA with an NL best WHIP and posting pinpoint control, walking less than two batters per nine innings.
The last stat is key for Gallen: the Padres walk at a near 11% clip, the second best mark in the big leagues. The team is hitting below .240 on the year, so it's heavily reliant on generating free bases and cashing in from there. However, Gallen has mastered limited blow ups.
While the Diamondbacks are about league average hitting left handed pitching, 18th, I like the matchup against southpaw Rich Hill and the Padres middling bullpen that has an ERA north of 4.00. Hill struggles to pitch long into games, and the vulnerable San Diego bullpen can run into issues against this D-Backs lineup.
Give me Arizona, with a noted pitching edge, to get it done on Thursday.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.