San Diego Padres vs San Francisco Giants Prediction, Picks, Odds, News, Injury Report for 3/28/24

It will be an NL West division showdown to open the 2024 MLB campaign when the San Francisco Giants take on the San Diego Padres. A pair of teams that finished outside of the playoffs a season ago will attempt to get back to the post-season in 2024. The bookmakers don’t seem to be sure which club will open the season with a win when the Giants and Padres do battle on Thursday. At 1.91 for either side of the Moneyline, it is up to our resident baseball expert Ej Garr to tell us which way to go! Our Padres vs Giants prediction at 1.91 odds is in the article below. 

The LA Dodgers are considerable favorites to win the NL West Division title in 2024, as neither the Padres nor the Giants have expectations to make the post-season. The Padres and Giants finished 2023 in third and fourth place in the NL West division table, and the Diamondbacks were the surprise team that made it to the NLCS last season.

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PADRES VS GIANTS Prediction, Picks: Let ‘Em Run!

• Selection: Game Total Over 7.5 Runs
• Best Odds: 1.91
• Bookmaker: Bet365
• Stakes: 4/10

Odds are available as of March 28th, 2024. Odds may now differ. 

The Giants and Padres each fell short of a playoff appearance in 2023, and each of these teams is not expected to be in the post-season again in 2024. So, the obvious goal is to dispel the bookmakers and prove everyone wrong.

The Padres only played 22 Spring Training games this year, and with 9 wins, 11 losses, and 2 games that ended as ties, San Diego landed near the bottom of the Catcus League standings. Juan Soto is gone to the New York Yankees, so the pressure again falls on Manny Machado to produce a big season in San Diego this year.

Machado will have some support in the Padres lineup with Xander Bogaerts and a healthy Fernando Tatis, Jr. this season, Tatis missed the entire 2022 campaign, and despite adding 25 HR in 2023 he struck out 141 times in 141 games played. 

The San Francisco Giants played 29 Spring Training games, and a third-place finish in the Grapefruit League standings was the result. The Giants scored an impressive 185 runs in 29 pre-season games, and Luis Matos was a big reason why. Matos bashed four HRs and the long ball might be something we see more of from the Giants in 2024. 

The Giants pounded out 33 homers in 29 pre-season games, and that is despite not having a roster full of big names  

Logan Webb is the listed opening-day starter for the Giants, and he simply did not have a good Spring Training camp. Webb started 5 games for the Giants this Spring, and 3 losses with an ERA of 9.00 leaves much room for improvement. 

Webb is also looking to atone for one of his worst seasons with the Giants in 2023. After producing a 26 – 12 record in 2021 & 2022 combined, Webb gave up a career-high 20 HRs with an 11 – 13 record.

The Padres are sending Yu Darvish to the mound for the opening-day nod, and he too is coming off a disappointing 2023 campaign. Posting a 10 – 12 record last year, Darvish only made 24 starts and was also a victim of the long ball too often. Darvish surrendered 18 HR in 24 starts in 2023, and all of this leads to one thing…

RUNS!

The first five-inning to total is listed at 4 at Bet365, although they are showing a 1.87 line attached to that action. The runs will come early and often, and I am not shying away from this total at 7.5 to fly over that number. My Padres vs Giants prediction is for at least 8 runs!

Padres vs Giants Game Info

• Time: 20:10 UK TIme
• Location: Petco Park, San Francisco, CA
• Starting Pitchers: Yu Darvish vs Logan Webb
• Moneyline Odds: San Diego 1.91; San Francisco 1.91
• Where to Watch: MLBTV

San Diego Padres News, Injury Report, Schedule

San Diego has three players listed on the injury report headed toward opening day. Starting pitcher Luis Patino is dealing with an elbow injury and he is expected to be out for the first few weeks of the campaign. Tucupita Marcano came over from the Pirates in the off-season, and he has a torn ACL in his right knee, so his return is unknown.

The Padres open the season with four games at home against the Giants before the Cardinals arrive in town for a 3-game set. The Padres and Giants will see each other again in the third series of the season on April 5 – 7 in San Francisco.

San Francisco Giants News, Injury Report, Schedule

The Giants have five starting pitchers on the injury report to start the 2024 campaign, Former Cy Young winner Robbie Ray was brought over in the off-season from Seattle, but Tommy John surgery will leave him on the shelf until at least the All-Star break in July.

Alex Cobb will also be out of commission for the first month of 2024, as will Sean Hjelle. Ethan Small and Tristan Beck will be out for an unknown period.

The Giants open the season with this four-game set against the Padres, and then they’ll make a trip to LA to face the Dodgers for three games. The Giants will then make their home-opening debut against The Padrs as mentioned above, and the brief 6-game home stand will end with the Nationals in town.

Padres vs Giants H2H

The Padres and Giants played 13 games in 2023, and the Padres earned 8 wins while losing 5 to their in-state rivals. 

The Padres and Giants have met 932 times, and the Giants hold a 488 – 444 edge in the series. 

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