Draftkings MLB Showdown Picks: Padres vs. Phillies 7/2/25
San Diego Padres vs. Philadelphia Phillies
July 2, 2025 1:05 pm EDT
Major League Baseball presents Draftkings baseball fans with a National League matchup featuring the San Diego Padres and the Philadelphia Phillies. Let’s take a look at this MLB game from a DFS perspective.
Before we dive into the San Diego Padres vs. Philadelphia Phillies game let’s review the rules for the Draftkings MLB single game showdown contest.
Draftkings Single Game Showdown Contest Rules
You have $50,000 to utilize on five players from either team. However, one of those players will be designated as your team captain. The captain accumulates 1.5 times the standard fantasy points. Additionally, the captain is 1.5 times the standard cost of the flex position.
The remaining four players in your lineup will receive the standard fantasy points. Having stated that, it is highly important for you to identify the correct player for your captain position if you hope to win a large field DFS GPP (guaranteed prize pool) showdown contest.
If you have additional questions regarding the rules for the single game showdown contest, I recommend that you check out the Draftkings website for more details.
*I recommend that all readers review the starting lineups for both teams prior to setting your DFS lineup for this one game slate.
Here are my Draftkings picks for this afternoon’s Padres vs. Phillies matchup.
Draftkings MLB Showdown Picks
Captain-Nick Pivetta, Starting Pitcher, San Diego Padres $11,400
On Wednesday afternoon, Major League Baseball presents the opening game of a three-game National League series featuring the San Diego Padres and the Philadelphia Phillies.
How are these two teams playing entering today’s MLB game? The San Diego Padres arrive at the first game of this three-game series with the Philadelphia Phillies playing below average baseball. More specifically, the Padres have lost three of the team’s last four games played in the 2025 MLB regular season, including an 8-1 loss to the Cincinnati Reds five days ago.
In direct contrast to the San Diego Padres, the Philadelphia Phillies are playing good baseball entering the opening game of this National League series. The Phillies have won three of the team’s last four games played this season, including a dominant 13-0 shutout win over the Atlanta Braves last week.
Now that we have determined how both of these teams are currently playing let’s shift our focus to this afternoon’s contest. Starting pitcher Nick Pivetta has been a solid performer for the San Diego Padres this season. Having stated that, how has the talented pitcher performed from a data standpoint? Let’s review Pivetta’s relevant statistical data from the 2025 MLB regular season to answer that question.
In 16 starts made for the San Diego Padres this season, starting pitcher Nick Pivetta has compiled a robust 8-2 (win-loss record), a 3.36 ERA (Earned Run Average) and a 1.03 WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched) which ranks 13th in MLB. Additionally, Pivetta has amassed 101 strikeouts (20th in MLB) while allowing 24 walks in 91 innings pitched this season.
More recently, in the San Diego Padres 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates last month, Padres starting pitcher Nick Pivetta pitched exceptionally well. Pivetta pitched six quality innings while scattering six hits and zero walks in the Padres victory over the Pirates. It should also be noted that Pivetta struck out eight Pirates batters in the Padres defeat of Pittsburgh.
In my view, Nick Pivetta is the most likely player to post the most Draftkings points in today’s MLB game. With that said, I am backing San Diego Padres starting pitcher Nick Pivetta at the captain position for this one game MLB DFS slate.
Flex plays I like to play well in this MLB regular season contest (Draftkings price noted): Fernando Tatis Jr., Outfielder (San Diego Padres) $9,400: Manny Machado, Third Baseman (San Diego Padres) $8,600: Bryce Harper, First Baseman (Philadelphia Phillies) $9,000.
