Dodgers-Padres prediction: Picks, odds on Friday, August 4

The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres will renew their NL West rivalry with a four-game series that gets underway this evening. First pitch is scheduled for 9:40 p.m. ET at Petco Park in San Diego. Rookie Bobby Miller (6-2, 4.37 ERA) will start for the Dodgers while Yu Darvish (8-7, 4.53 ERA) will get the nod for the Friars.

San Diego enters the game as a -125 favorite on the moneyline over at DraftKings Sportsbook, while Los Angeles is a +105 underdog. The run total is set at 8.

Dodgers-Padres picks: Friday, August 4

Injury report

Dodgers

Day-To-Day: 3B Max Muncy (wrist), DH J.D. Martinez (hamstring)
Out: SP Clayton Kershaw (shoulder), SP Walker Buehler (elbow), SP Jimmy Nelson (elbow), SS Gavin Lux (knee), OF Jonny Deluca (hamstring), OF Jake Marisnick (hamstring)

Padres

Day-To-Day: SP Joe Musgrove (shoulder)
Out: SP Michael Wacha (shoulder), 3B Eguy Rosario (ankle), SP Drew Pomeranz (elbow), RP Alek Jacob (elbow), RP Tim Hill (finger)

Starting pitchers

Bobby Miller vs. Yu Darvish

Miller is looking to start his month of August on a positive note and continue to build his case for NL Rookie of the Year. The young righty took the a loss in last Friday’s start against the Reds but still had a decent outing, striking out six and yielding three earned runs in five innings. He’s been surprisingly comfortable on the road for a rookie, posting a 4-0 record with a 2.63 ERA while holding opposing batters to a .216 average.

Darvish bounced back from a poor performance against the Pirates by stonewalling the Rangers last Saturday. Going six full innings, he K’d nine batters and yielded just three hits in an eventual 4-0 shutout. Darvish has held this current Dodgers lineup to just a collective .213 average for his career and he will look to continue that success tonight.

Over/Under pick

This is an intriguing matchup on the O/U front. On one hand, this has the potential to be a great pitching matchup with a promising rookie facing a seasoned veteran who has had success against this particular lineup. On the other, these are two lineups that have been in the top five in slugging percentage over the past week and can get runners in scoring position with the snap of a finger. I’ll lean offense here and predict that these two teams will blow past the over tonight.

Pick: Over 8

Moneyline pick

Both clubs have momentum heading into this series with the Padres winning five out of their last six and the Dodgers coming off a three-game sweep of the Athletics. I’ll lean with the home team to fire the first shot in this series as it’s trying to make up ground in the NL West standings.