MLB Odds: Arizona Diamondbacks at San Diego Padres
Written June 8, 2009 by Steve Janus
Two teams fighting an uphill battle in the National League West meet tonight at 10:05 PM EST in San Diego as the Padres host the Arizona Diamondbacks. Both teams have fallen far behind the division-leading LA Dodgers, with San Diego 11.5 games out of first and the D-Back a full 13 games behind LA. It’s going to take a tremendous run out of one of these teams, or a complete collapse by the Dodgers for either team to come close to contending for the division, but you never know, a few moves here or there and maybe one of these teams gets something going. Let’s take a closer look at tonight’s match up. Monday’s MLB lines show the Padres -169 against the Diamondbacks with the total set at just 7.5 runs.
Starting Pitching: Former Chicago White Sox starter, Jon Garland gets the call for the Diamondbacks. Garland has struggled this season, earning a 4-5 record with a 5.34 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP in 11 starts this season. The good news here for the D-Backs is that he has thrown his best on the road this year, throwing for a 2.01 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP in 5 appearances as the visiting starter. Garland will be trying to out-duel San Diego ace Jake Peavy, who is having one of his worst seasons in recent memory. Peavy is 5-6 on the season with a 4.10 ERA, but his 1.18 WHIP makes it look like it is just a matter of time before he turns things around. He’s still striking out a lot of batters and not allowing very many walks, which usually means a pitchers ERA will fall over time. Edge: San Diego
Hitting: The Arizona offense has been virtually non-existent on the road this season, scoring just 4.1 runs per game and hitting .223 as a team. It’s surprising to see that they have earned a 13-13 road record this season with such poor hitting, but their starting pitching evidently keeps them within striking distance. As bad as Arizona’s offense has been, they can’t compete with how bad San Diego’s offense has been. In 29 home games this year, the Padres are hitting .213 as a team and scoring just 3.7 runs per game. Somehow they’ve managed a 18-11 record at home, however, making it look like their opponents are having an equally hard time scoring runs at their ballpark. Edge: Even
Relief Pitching: Arizona’s bullpen hasn’t been great, coming into tonight’s game with a 4.98 ERA. They are 10-8 as a unit, but have 9 blown saves in 25 save opportunities this year. San Diego’s pen has been very good at home, earning a 2.94 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP as a unit. They have a collective record of 6-3 and have just 2 blown saves in 11 chances in San Diego this season. Edge: San Diego
Game Prediction: With little offense and some solid starting pitching, the best bet here is on the UNDER 7.5 runs.
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