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Lopsided NL West Matchup Continues

MLB: NL West Matchup

The San Diego Padres will play host to the Arizona Diamondbacks for the second of a three-game series on Saturday night. Arizona rallied to beat San Diego in game one by an 8-5 margin. The Padres have been sliding, and a big reason for this is because the team does not have Fernando Tatis Jr.

Good teams bounce back with a vengeance, so it’s no surprise that the Padres are heavy favorites. Looking at the MLB odds, San Diego is favored on the run line with a moneyline of -300. Arizona is +240 to win, and the over/under has been set at eight runs,

Jake Cronenworth hits an RBI double San Diego Padres vs Arizona Diamondbacks Picks
Denis Poroy/Getty Images/AFP

Taylor Widener will throw for Arizona against Yu Darvish of the Padres. The first pitch from Petco Park is scheduled for 8:40 p.m. ET. For more baseball odds and lines, check out BETUS Sportsbook.

Dbacks Upset Padres

The Diamondbacks have garnered the reputation for being one of the worst teams in baseball. However, in MLB, any team can win on any given night, and Arizona showed this. The Diamondbacks scored two runs in the third and six runs in the fourth to win by an 8-5 margin.

San Diego took an early five-run lead, but Arizona’s eight unanswered runs were too much for the team to handle. The Diamondbacks have not displayed many offensive explosions, so Tuesday night’s performance was a rarity this season.

In the fourth inning, the Diamondbacks sent 11 batters to the plate. This momentum has been unseen in 2021. After the game, Arizona skipper Torey Lovullo praised his team.

“We grew up today,” Lovullo said after Friday’s win. “I was so proud of what we did. We had some guys step up in a big way.”

Pitching Matchup

The Diamondbacks will have a tougher time scoring runs on Saturday because they will have to maneuver San Diego’s ace Darvish, who has been sensational in 2021, but he has shown some flaws as of late.

Darvish is 7-6 with a 3.48 ERA. He has thrown 121.2 innings and recorded 142 strikeouts. Darvish gets hurt when he misses spots, which is apparent by the number of homers he has allowed.

The Padre has surrendered 16 bombs and 29 walks. Taylor Widener will be on the hill for Arizona. San Diego should not need Fernando Tatis Jr. to attack Widener.

He is 1-1 with a 5.05 ERA. The wing has allowed 41 hits in 41 frames, so he has struggled immensely in 2021. I expect this trend to continue.

Who Wins?

The Dbacks deserve some consideration in this matchup because they won Friday, and the Padres still do not have Tatis in the lineup. This has clearly deflated the team as of late, but I believe Manny Machado and the club will rebound in this contest.

The Diamondbacks rallying down five runs has not been the norm in 2021. It’s not going to happen again on Saturday night. Darvish will throw well enough to win, and San Diego’s offense will have a field day with Widener.

When making your MLB betting picks, take San Diego to win.

Pick: San Diego Padres -1½ (-135)

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