Washington Nationals vs. San Diego Padres MLB Picks, Odds, Predictions 7/8/2021
Washington Nationals (42-43) vs. San Diego Padres (51-38)
July 8, 2021 9:10 pm EDT
The Line: San Diego Padres -135 / Washington Nationals +125; Over/Under: +8
(Get latest betting odds)
The Washington Nationals and San Diego Padres meet Thursday in MLB action at Petco Park. The Nationals need a win after losing five of their last seven games. The Padres need a win after losing five of their last seven games.
The Washington Nationals have scored 26 runs in their last three games and four or more runs in seven of their last 10 games. The Nationals have won 10 of their last 12 games when scoring four or more runs. Trea Turner leads the Nationals with 102 hits and 39 RBI while Starlin Castro and Juan Soto have combined for 150 hits and 73 RBI. Max Scherzer gets the ball, and he is 7-4 with a 2.10 ERA and 127 strikeouts this season. Scherzer is 4-2 with a 2.13 ERA and 104 strikeouts in his career against the Padres.
The San Diego Padres have scored 17 runs in their last three games and four or more runs in four straight games. The Padres have won 11 of their last 14 games when scoring four or more runs. Jake Cronenworth leads the Padres with 90 hits and 34 RBI while Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. have combined for 153 hits and 116 RBI. Yu Darvish gets the ball, and he is 7-3 with a 2.65 ERA and 123 strikeouts this season. This will be Darvish’s second career game against the Nationals.
The Nationals are 4-9 in their last 13 during game 4 of a series and 2-10 in their last 12 Thursday games. The Padres are 23-6 in their last 29 home games and 5-2 in their last 7 Thursday games. The over is 5-2 in Nationals last 7 road games. The over is 7-2 in Padres last 9 Thursday games. The over is 5-2-2 in the last 9 meetings.
The Padres should be favored here, as they’ve been the better team this season and they’re at home with Darvish on the mound. Darvish would be in the CY Young running if deGrom wasn’t having the season he’s having. With all that said, we’re getting plus money with Scherzer on the hill. This will be the 11th time since 2016 Scherzer has been an underdog. Just the 11th time in the last five years! I have to take the Nationals here.
