San Diego Padres vs. Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction 7-24-23 MLB Picks
The Pittsburgh Pirates and the San Diego Padres meet in game one of their three-game MLB set from Petco Park on Monday. Two teams that have been performing well below expectations up to this point in the season, who jumps out in front in game one? Let’s dive in and find out.
Pittsburgh Pirates Team Preview
The Pittsburgh Pirates have been as much of a disaster out of the all-star break as they were since the end of April, losing 7 of 9 since the break thanks to a 7-5 loss to the Los Angeles Angels in Sunday’s series finale. The Loss pushed the Pirates to 43-56, still in the basement of the NL Central and 10.5 games back of a Wild Card spot in the National League. Bryan Reynolds leads the Pirates with 85 hits while Jack Suwinski has a team-high 20 home runs and 51 RBIs this season. Andrew McCutchen also has a team-high .267 batting average and .381 OBP this season. Quinn Priester will make his second MLB start here and is 0-1 with an 11.81 ERA and 2 strikeouts this season.
San Diego Padres Team Preview
The San Diego Padres have been decent as of late after losing their first series out of the all-star break to the Phillies, with series wins over Toronto and Detroit, but the Padres weren’t able to complete the sweep in either of those series, losing 3-1 in Sunday’s series finale against the Tigers. The loss sent the Padres to 48-52 on the year and has the Padres 6 games back of the final NL Wild Card spot and 10 games back in the NL West division race. Juan Soto leads the Padres with 19 home runs and 60 RBIs while Fernando Tatis Jr. has a team-best 95 hits and .284 batting average. Manny Machado also has 19 home runs and 57 RBIs while Trent Grisham and Soto both lead the Padres with 24 doubles this season. Yu Darvish will start this one for the Padres and is 7-6 with a 4.36 ERA and 105 strikeouts this season.
Pittsburgh Pirates Team Facts
- The Pirates have won each of their last four games as underdogs against the Padres following a road loss.
- The Pirates have covered the run line in each of their last seven games against the Padres following a road loss.
San Diego Padres Team Facts
- The underdogs have won four of the last five games between the Pirates and Padres.
- The Padres have covered the run line in each of their last five home games after playing the previous day.
San Diego Padres Player Prop Facts
- Manny Machado has hit at least one home run in five of the Padres' last six games as favourites against NL opponents.
- Yu Darvish has recorded seven or more strikeouts in each of his last 10 home appearances against NL Central opponents.
- Trent Grisham has recorded at least one hit in each of the Padres' last 10 games as favourites against NL opponents.
- Trent Grisham has recorded at least one total base in each of the Padres' last 10 games as favourites against NL opponents.
- Manny Machado has recorded at least one RBI in five of the Padres' last six games as favourites against NL opponents.
- Juan Soto ranks 2nd amongst qualified players for On Base Percentage (.419) this season.
Matchup/League Facts
- The San Diego Padres ranks 1st in the league for walks this season (418).
- The San Diego Padres ranks 3rd in the league for hits allowed this season (782).
- The Pittsburgh Pirates ranks 27th in the league for home runs this season (90).
- The Pittsburgh Pirates ranks 27th in the league for runs scored this season (409).
Chris’ Pick
I have to look at the Padres -1.5 here. The Pirates just simply have not been good since almost the first month of the season when this team started the year 20-8 but since then it’s been the word freefall epitomized. The San Diego Padres have been disappointing based on expectations that are going to be there when your roster has the players that it does, but there’s at least hope for the Padres in my eyes, and they’re far and away the better team in this game with a massive edge in starting pitching. This feels like a spot for the Padres to tee off on the Pirates so I’ll back San Diego -1.5.
