Their $340 million shortstop hasn’t played a single inning (and won’t until probably July). Their co-ace pitcher didn’t make his season debut until 48 hours ago. And they’ve hit seven fewer home runs (30) than they’ve allowed (37).
Despite all that, the San Diego Padres enter Friday with the fifth-best record in baseball (tied with Milwaukee) and the second-best road record. And they’re the third-most profitable team from a betting perspective (trailing only two teams from New York).
Yet the Padres also enter Friday as an underdog in the opener of a weekend series against San Francisco — a team that trails San Diego in the NL West standings. And a team whose home record (11-7) is worse than the Padres’ road mark (14-7).
Can San Diego continue to prove bookmakers wrong and win for the sixth time in its last eight games as an underdog? Or will the Giants beat a team not named the Rockies or Cardinals for the first time since April 30? Props.com breaks down Padres vs Giants odds for Friday’s marquee matchup on the diamond.
Odds via WynnBett and updated as of 6:50 p.m. ET on May 20.
San Diego Padres (24-14) vs San Francisco Giants (22-15)
First Pitch/TV: 10:15 p.m. ET/MLB Network & MLB.TV
Moneyline: Giants -120/Padres +110
Runline: Giants (-1.5) +165/Padres (+1.5) -200
Total: 7.5 (Over -115/Under +100)
Pitching matchup: LHP Sean Manaea (2-3, 3.77 ERA, 1.12 WHIP) vs RHP Jakob Junis (1-1, 1.74 ERA, 0.97 WHIP)
Season series: San Francisco leads, 2-1. Going back to last September, the Giants are on a 6-3 roll against San Diego.
Did you know: Only the Yankees (+7.15 units) and Mets (+6.00) have been more profitable than the Padres (+5.80) to this point in the season.
About the Padres
Hits & Misses: San Diego is 4-2 on its current road trip after taking two of three in Philadelphia to start the week. All three games against the Phillies ended in shutouts (3-0 and 2-0 wins; 3-0 loss). The Padres trail the Dodgers by 1.5 games in the NL West. Their 14-7 road record ranks second in MLB, behind only the Yankees (14-6). 3B Manny Machado and 1B Eric Hosmer continue to pace San Diego’s offense. Machado has seven homers, 23 RBI and ranks second in MLB in batting average (.355), fifth in OPS (.992) and tied for fifth in runs (27). Hosmer is batting .336 (5th) with four homers and 24 RBI.
Manaea vs San Francisco: Manaea has surrendered exactly three runs in each of his last three starts (at Pittsburgh, vs. Miami, at Atlanta). The southpaw tossed 19.2 innings during this stretch, while recording a 26-6 K/BB ratio. However, the Padres lost all three games. In fact, San Diego is winless in Manaea’s last four starts, with the 30-year-old former first-round selection posting a 5.63 ERA (15 runs allowed in 24 innings). Those numbers are in stark contrast to Manaea’s first three outings, when he allowed three runs in a combined 19 innings (1.42 ERA). That includes a solid effort in a 2-1 loss at San Francisco on April 13 (two runs in six innings). In fact, Manaea has yielded two earned runs or fewer in all eight of his starts against the Giants, going 2-3 with a 2.72 ERA.
Key injuries: OF Matt Beaty (shoulder) and RP Tim Hill (shoulder) landed on the 10-day injured list this week. Beaty is out indefinitely, while Hill is expected to be sidelined until the end of the month.
About the Giants
Hits & Misses: San Francisco had Thursday off after capping a six-game road trip with Wednesday’s 5-3 loss at Colorado. The Giants split the six contests in Colorado and St. Louis. In fact, the team’s last 13 games have been against the Rockies (six) and Cardinals (seven). San Francisco is in third place in the NL West, 1.5 games behind the Padres and three games behind the Dodgers. The Giants have won five straight home games (three against the Rockies, two against the Cardinals). They rank second to the Dodgers in runs scored (5.11 per game) but 17th in runs allowed (4.16). Also, the pitching staff’s 3.91 ERA is 20th in baseball.
Junis vs San Diego: Junis has given up two runs in each of his first two starts with San Francisco, both against the Cardinals. The right-hander yielded a combined nine hits and three walks while striking out eight in 10.2 total innings. He earned a 4-3 home win on May 8, then lost 4-0 at St. Louis on Saturday. Going back to Junis’ time with the Royals, his teams are 1-4 in his last five starts and 3-6 in his last nine (3-0 at home; 0-6 on the road). Junis’ lone start against the Padres came in June 2017. He allowed three runs (all solo homers) in seven innings, winning 8-3 in San Diego.
Key injuries: RP Jake McGee (back) is on the IL and not expected to return until at least the end of May. Three other Giants — SPs Anthony DeScalfini (ankle) and Matthew Boyd (elbow), and CF Steven Duggar (oblique) — remain on the 60-day IL.
Notable Trends
- SD is on positive runs of 19-9 overall, 10-4 on the road and 6-1 in series openers
- SD is 5-2 in its last seven as an underdog overall, but 9-23 in its last 32 as a road ’dog
- SF is on positive runs of 8-3 overall (all as a favorite) and 5-0 at home
- Over is 10-4 in SD’s last 14 road games
- Under is 3-0 in SD’s last three overall
- Over is 7-2 in SF’s last nine overall
- Over is 8-2 in SF’s last 10 home games (3-0 last three)
- Under is 4-2 in the last six Padres-Giants battles (Over was 11-1 in the previous 12)
Padres Vs Giants Odds and Action
UPDATE 6:50 P.M. ET FRIDAY: This game hit WynnBet’s odds board as a pick ’em late Thursday night, with both teams priced at -105. The Giants are currently out to -120, with the Padres at +110. Tickets (72%) and money (69%) favor San Francisco. The total has seen a slight juice adjustment from an opener of 7.5 flat (-110 both ways) to 7.5/Over -115. There’s two-way action on the total at WynnBet, with 58% of all bets on the Over and 56% of all dollars on the Under.
UPDATE 11:40 A.M. ET FRIDAY: BetMGM opened Padres vs Giants odds with San Francisco as a slight -115 favorite (-105 on the Padres). The number has since ticked up twice, first to Giants -120/Padres +100 and then to the current price of Giants -125/Padres +105. The total opened at 7.5 flat (-110 both ways) and is now 7.5/Over -120.
