San Diego Padres vs. Atlanta Braves Prediction: Can the Braves Spoil the Padres Home Opener?
San Diego Padres vs. Atlanta Braves Prediction: Can the Braves Spoil the Padres Home Opener?
The Atlanta Braves are looking to repeat this season after winning the World Series last year. Things haven't really gone as planned so far but it's still very early in the season.
Atlanta will travel to San Diego to take on the Padres in a four-game series on the road. With so many ace pitchers expected to take the mound throughout the series, this is going to be a series that you won't want to miss.
It's important to win the first couple of games in any series. What should we expect in tonight's game? Here are our picks, predictions, and odds for the first game of the series between the Atlanta Braves and the San Diego Padres.
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Padres vs. Braves Start Time, Where to Watch, and Odds
- Date: April 14, 2022
- Game Time: 8:10 pm ET
- Where to Watch: BSSD/BSSE
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Padres vs. Braves Injury Report
Braves
Out: OF Ronald Acuna (Knee)
Padres
Out: SS Fernando Tatis (Wrist)
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Padres vs. Braves Line Movement
Padres vs. Braves Prediction
It'll be ace pitcher Charlie Morton on the mound for the Braves tonight. On Friday, Morton debuted in his 2022 season with 5.1 innings of work against the Reds. In that game, he allowed two runs off two hits and one walk while striking out five using 78 pitches.
Last season, Morton put together an above-average season with an xFIP of 3.52. Morton struck out 28.6% of batters but also walked 8.1% of batters last season. That was the only thing Morton did poorly last year. Ultimately, Morton didn't allow much power or give up too many hits.
Without Fernando Tatis, the Padres lineup doesn't look all that appealing. Using the projected lineup, the Padres lineup hit a .166 ISO and wOBA of .325 against righties last season. The lineup is fierce in the middle with Manny Machado, Jake Cronenworth, and Luke Voit but other than those bats, there's a lot to be desired. All three of those batters mentioned hit above a .200 ISO against righties last season with above-average wOBA as well.
The Padres, on the other hand, will pitch Joe Musgrove. In his first outing of the season, Musgrove struck out eight batters and walked none against the Diamondbacks. He exited the game after going six innings. He allowed two runs on five hits.
Last season, Musgrove put together a quality season with a 3.90 xFIP. He struck out 27.8% of batters and walked 7.1% of batters. However, the one issue for Musgrove was power from lefties. Musgrove allowed a .193 ISO to lefties last season and that hurt him a bit in different moments last year.
If you're looking for lefties that can hit for power against Musgrove, look at Matt Olson, Eddie Rosario, and Alex Dickerson. The big bat would be Matt Olson, who hit a .228 ISO and wOBA of .378 last season against righties. Therefore, I'll ride the Braves lineup and take Atlanta on the moneyline. There's more potential for power and runs out of this Braves lineup in comparison to the Padres.
San Diego Padres vs. Atlanta Braves Pick
- Braves -110 (Bet $110 to Win $100)
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Article Author
Jason grew up an avid sports fan. His passion for sports writing grew in high school and he developed a blog that was strictly for New York Sports. From his work, you will quickly realize that he loves looking at games from an analytical and numbers perspective and hopes to provide you with that same perspective in his articles.