San Diego Padres vs San Francisco Giants Prediction 8-31-23 MLB Picks

The San Francisco Giants and the San Diego Padres meet in game one of their four-game NL West series from Petco Park on Thursday. Two NL West rivals trying to stay in the playoff race, who draws first blood? Let’s dive in and find out.

Giants Fall Flat In Wednesday’s Finale

The San Francisco Giants had a great chance to pick up a huge sweep over the Cincinnati Reds but faltered with their ace on the mound after a 4-1 loss in Wednesday’s series finale.  The loss dropped the Giants to 69-64 on the year, sitting 14 games back in the NL West division race while clinging to the final wild card spot in the National League. Wilmer Flores leads the Giants with 19 home runs this season while J.D. Davis and Michael Conforto each have 15 dingers with Davis posting 103 hits and a team-high 60 RBIs as well. Conforto has 55 RBIs and LaMonte Wade Jr. has a .253 batting average and a .374 OBP this season. Thairo Estrada leads the Giants with 104 hits this season. The Giants did not have a starting pitcher announced at the time that this article was posted.

San Francisco Giants Team Facts

• The Giants have won each of their last six night games against NL West opponents following a home loss.
• The Giants have covered the run line in each of their last six night games against NL West opponents following a home loss.
• The 'Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs' market has hit in each of the Giants' last three road games.
• The Giants have trailed after 7 innings in each of their last nine road games against opponents that held a losing record.

Padres Drop Series Vs. Cardinals

The San Diego Padres had a golden opportunity of their own to get a big series win over a slumping St. Louis team, but suffered a 5-4 loss in Wednesday’s series finale to fall to 62-72 on the year, sitting 21.5 games back in the NL West race and 7.5 games back in the NL Wild Card hunt. Juan Soto leads the Padres with 25 home runs and 80 RBIs with a .402 OBP as well while Xander Bogaerts has a team-high 127 hits. Fernando Tatis Jr. leads San Diego with 28 doubles and Manny Machado also has 25 home runs and 78 RBIs as well this season. Pedro Avila will start for the Padres here and is 0-1 with a 2.63 ERA and 32 strikeouts this season.

San Diego Padres Team Facts

• The Padres have lost each of their last eight Thursday home games.
• The Padres have failed to cover the run line in each of their last 10 Thursday home games.
• The Padres have led after 5 innings in each of their last eight Thursday games against the Giants.
• The 'Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs' market has hit in each of the Padres' last three night games against NL West opponents.
• The Padres have trailed after 7 innings in each of their last six Thursday home games.

Matchup/League Facts

• The San Diego Padres ranks 1st in the league for walks this season (540).
• The San Diego Padres ranks 5th in the league for hits allowed this season (1060).
• The San Francisco Giants ranks 30th in the league for steals this season (47).
• The San Francisco Giants ranks T29th in the league for triples this season (10).

Chris’ Pick

I don’t love this game, but I’m sticking with the Padres. One bad start is not going to sour me with Avila, especially against a Giants team that I backed on Wednesday that stunk up the joint against a righty once again. Well fool me once, shame on you, I’m not getting fooled again. The Padres have been mightily disappointing all year, but I’m not jumping on the Giants after they got me again on Wednesday. I think San Diego’s in full on desperation mode and I think they snag the series opening win here. Give me the Padres.