Can The Padres Get Back Above .500 This Week?
Athletics vs Padres Preview: Oakland's Pitching Is Shaping Up
There are four interleague matchups starting tonight. Some of the matchups are intriguing.
And then there’s the Oakland Athletics and San Diego Padres.
For what it’s worth, the Athletics haven’t been nearly as bad as some projected. The MLB has worse teams, including the Marlins.
- That said, the Athletics are still 26-41 on the season and not playing for anything more than pride.
Meanwhile, the Padres are a game below .500. They’ve fallen eight MLB games below in the NL West and have only won four of their last ten games.
Yet, the Athletics are coming to town at the perfect time. A potential three-game sweep against the lowly Athletics would help the Padres get back above .500.
- In tonight’s Game 1, the Padres are -205 on the moneyline. Meanwhile, the total is stiff at 7, with the Over juiced to -125.
Check out our Athletics vs Padres preview for this interleague three-game series on the West Coast.
Records: Oakland Athletics (26-41), San Diego Padres (34-35)
Date & Time:
Location: Petco Park, San Diego, CA
Streaming: NBCSCA
Would Tim Hudson Mentor Oakland?
On Sunday, manager Mark Kotsay told reporters he’d love to see former Athletics pitcher Tim Hudson come to Spring Training next season to mentor the Oakland Athletics.
He also compared tonight’s starter, Joey Estes, ‘s stuff to that of Tim Hudson, saying Estes has an aggressive fastball that attacks hitters. Hudson was like that when he pitched.
We’ll see if Hudson will agree to the invite in the future.
Waiting On Joe Musgrove
Joe Musgrove recently got an MRI that showed a bone spur and bone bruise on his right elbow.
This was the new diagnosis that has already put him on the MLB Injured List for the second time this season. If all goes well, he’ll likely resume throwing in less than two weeks, but surgery isn’t in question at this moment.
Athletics vs Padres Preview & Odds For Game 1:
RL Padres -1.5 (+112) ML: Padres -205, O/U: 7 -130/+105
âš¾ Game 1 âš¾
- Monday, 9:40 pm ET
- Joey Estes vs Dylan Cease
The Athletics will give Joey Estes the ball for Game 1 of this series tonight. He’s struck out 23.4% of batters and has only walked 5.6%. However, Estes has also allowed a .182 ISO to go along with 37.3% of fly balls, 34.7% of line drives, and just 17.3% of ground balls induced.
These types of numbers will eventually hurt Estes down the line.
However, with that said, he’s facing a Padres lineup that has only hit a .119 ISO over the last 30 days against righties. Still, the Padres should put the ball in play against Estes at a high rate.
After all, the projected lineup has struck out only 14.6% of the time against righties in the last month.
The Athletics could say the exact opposite. Their projected lineup has six batters striking out at least 25.3% of the time over the last 30 days against righties. As a lineup, Oakland has hit just a .126 ISO and wOBA of .278 with 28.8% of strikeouts.
That doesn’t bode well for Oakland, going up against Dylan Cease, who has struck out more than 30% of batters this season.
Let’s ride the Padres on the MLB schedule today.
âš¾ Game 2 âš¾
- Tuesday, 9:40 pm ET
- JP Sears vs Randy Vasquez
Oakland will give lefty JP Sears another start. He’s got a respectable 3.93 ERA and has held MLB teams to a .291. His wOBA numbers have been helped with his low walk rate. However, Sears hasn’t added a high strikeout rate and has also allowed a .176 ISO to righties.
Again, while the Padres are great at putting the ball in play, the offense has struggled to find much power against lefties. Over the last 30 days, Ha Seong-Kim is the only hitter with an ISO better than .150 against lefties.
Sears should have an above-average start.
He’ll go up against Randy Vasquez, who, like Sears, was a former Yankees prospect. Vasquez has allowed a .216 ISO and wOBA of .380 with only 14.3% of strikeouts this season. He’s kept fly balls down but has still allowed 28.6% of line drives this season.
Unfortunately for the Athletics, it’s unlikely they will capitalize on Vasquez’s struggles due to their poor offense.
Neither pitcher is an MLB stats leader, but we’d back the Under in Game 2 of our Athletics vs. Padres preview.
âš¾ Game 3 âš¾
- Wednesday, 4:10 pm ET
- Hogan Harris vs Michael King
The Athletics will use another lefty in the series finale. Hogan Harris has a 2.21 ERA on the season after facing 81 batters. He’s not getting many strikeouts, but he’s still held opponents to a .127 ISO and wOBA of .286.
He’ll face off against Michael King, who has struck out more than 25% of batters and holds a wOBA of .293.
Don’t expect much offense in this game, either. We’d run to the MLB top sportsbooks and grab the Under on Wednesday.
For Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
