San Diego Padres at Washington Nationals odds, picks and predictions

The San Diego Padres (21-26) kick off a 9-game road trip on Tuesday with the 1st game in a 3-game series against the Washington Nationals (20-27). First pitch for this series opener is 7:05 p..m. ET at Nationals Park. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Padres vs. Nationals odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.

Season series: First meeting; Padres won 2022 series 4-3

The Padres had an off day on Monday and are coming off a 7-0 win on Sunday over the Boston Red Sox which ended a 4-game losing streak. They are 3-11 in their last 14 games.

The Nationals have won 2 straight games, taking 2 of 3 games in their home series against the Detroit Tigers before an off day on Monday. They had a 4-game losing streak prior to that.

Padres at Nationals projected starters

RHP Yu Darvish vs. LHP MacKenzie Gore

Darvish (2-3, 3.56 ERA) makes his 9th start. He has a 1.13 WHIP, 3.0 BB/9 and 9.9 K/9 in 48 innings.

• Last start Wednesday vs. Kansas City Royals: Loss, 5 1/3 IP, 4 ER, 6 H. 2 BB, 6 K
• Is 1-2 with 4.62 ERA in 4 career starts vs. Nationals

Gore (3-3, 3.69 ERA) makes his 10th start. He has a 1.45 WHIP, 4.5 BB/9 and 11.3 K/9 in 46 1/3 innings.

• Nationals have lost his last 4 starts
• Facing Padres for 1st time in his career

Padres at Nationals odds

BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 8:17 a.m. ET.

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Padres at Nationals picks and predictions

Prediction

Nationals 4, Padres 3

The Padres are struggling, having lost 11 of their last 14 games, and they have scored 3 or fewer runs in 10 of those 14 games.

The Nationals have scored 5 or more runs in 3 straight games. They are 7-7 in their last 14 games.

BET NATIONALS (+125).

The Nationals are 30-17 ATS this season, tied for the best record in all baseball while the Padres are 22-25 ATS.

Taking the Nationals +1.5 (-135) here to cover isn’t a bad play if you want to give yourself an extra run to play with, but with those positive odds as the underdog on the moneyline and the Nationals playing better than the Padres over the last few games, PASS on the run line.

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Only 1 of the last 6 games between the 2 teams have had a total of 9 or more runs. Five of the Nationals’ last 8 games have had at least 9 runs while only 1 of the Padres’ last 17 games has had a total of at least 9 runs.

BET UNDER 8 (-105).

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