The San Diego Padres are 3-1 over their last four games, including a 2-1 record through the first three games of this current four-game series against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. The Padres hope to win the series with another upset Thursday night.
- Date/Time: August 13, 9:40 p.m. ET
- Stadium: Dodger Stadium
- TV Coverage: SportsNet LA
- Sportsbook Odds: Dodgers -135 | O/U 8 (Line History)
- Padres vs Dodgers Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
The betting line on this matchup hasn’t shown much movement with Los Angeles as a -135 favorite and San Diego going off at +125 as a road underdog. The total has jumped up from its opener of 8 runs to its current spot at 8.5 runs even though all of the first three games in this series have gone UNDER the posted total.
Starting Pitchers Analysis
Chris Paddack has been steadily reliable for the Padres all season with a 3.18 ERA and 1.01 WHIP through his first four starts. Paddack gave up three earned runs on five hits in six innings against the Dodgers earlier this month, leading San Diego to a 5-4 win in that one.
The Dodgers used Julio Urias out of the bullpen with eight spot starts in 2019 after their prized pitching prospect missed significant time with injuries in 2017 and 2018. Urias has struggled with consistency in his first full season as a starter but still sports a 2.40 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP through 15 innings pitched across three starts.
San Diego News & Notes
Not many teams can roll into Los Angeles and outpitch the Dodgers, but that’s exactly what the Padres did through the first two games of this series, holding the high-powered Dodgers to just one run in a 2-1 win on Monday and two runs in a 6-2 win on Tuesday. Zach Davies also pitched great on Wednesday, allowing only two runs on four hits across seven innings, but Chris Stammen allowed four runs out of the bullpen and the offense couldn’t get anything going in a 6-0 loss.
San Diego’s starting pitchers have an impressive 3.20 ERA, good for fifth best in the major leagues. The Padres have shown in this series that they can hang with the best, but they will likely need to do something ahead of the August 31 trade deadline to improve a bullpen that owns a 5.35 ERA if they hope to make a deep playoff run.
Los Angeles News & Notes
After picking up losses in three of their previous four games, the Dodgers finally looked like themselves in Wednesday’s 6-0 win. Los Angeles is so consistent across the board with the league’s sixth-most productive offense (5.05 runs per game), sixth-best ERA among starting pitchers (3.28), and second-best ERA among relief pitchers (1.24) that it comes as a surprise when the Dodgers string some losses together.
The Dodgers’ depth on offense has helped mask the terrible seasons that Cody Bellinger and Max Muncy are having. Muncy had 35 home runs and 98 RBIs with a .251 batting average last season and has only four home runs with five RBIs and a .176 average so far this season. But Bellinger’s two home runs, seven RBIs and .171 batting average are particularly alarming coming off an MVP season of 47 home runs, 115 RBIs and a .305 average.
Betting Pick: UNDER 8.5
Chris Paddack and Julio Urias should both pitch well, and Los Angeles’s bullpen should continue to keep San Diego’s offense in check to lead this series to its fourth straight UNDER.
- San Diego is 3-8 SU in its last 11 games vs Los Angeles.
- The Dodgers are 10-5 SU in their last 15 games.
- The UNDER is 4-1 in Los Angeles’s last 5 games vs San Diego.
