San Diego Padres (55-40) vs. Atlanta Braves (45-46)
July 19, 2021 7:20 pm EDT
The Line: Atlanta Braves +145 / San Diego Padres -155 ; Over/Under: 9
(Get latest betting odds)
The San Diego Padres and the Atlanta Braves meet Monday in MLB action from SunTrust Park. San Diego is coming off a weekend series versus the Nationals. The Padres won the first two games in that set, then on Sunday San Diego took a tough loss. As for the Braves, they played the Rays over the weekend. Atlanta split the first pair there, then in the Sunday rubber match the Braves lost a tough one by two runs. Check back all season long for free MLB picks at Sports Chat Place.
San Diego posted a rousing 24-8 win on Friday versus the Nationals, then in the Saturday matchup they ended up with a 10-4 victory after a suspended game. On Sunday the Padres had a 6-4 lead at one point in the eighth but ended up losing in a walk-off 8-7. San Diego gave up 15 hits in the defeat.
For the starter job in the Monday game, the Padres will send out Yu Darvish. In his 105.0 innings this year Darvish has 81 hits, 38 runs (36 earned), 13 homers allowed, 24 walks, 125 Ks and a 3.09 ERA.
Over on the Atlanta side, they fell 7-6 to the Rays on Friday but bounced back for a 9-0 shutout win on Saturday. In the Sunday game, the Braves had a 3-0 lead after four innings but couldn’t keep up with the Tampa offense during a 7-5 defeat. Atlanta notched 12 team hits in the loss as well.
For the starter job in the Monday matchup, Atlanta is sending out Kyle Muller. The left-handed Muller has a 1-2 record overall this year with a 3.45 ERA and 20 strikeouts to his credit.
The Padres are 6-2 in their last eight in game one of a series and 5-12 in their last 17 road games. The over is 5-2 in the Padres’ last seven Monday games and 15-7 in their last 22 versus a team with a losing record.
Meanwhile, the Braves are 10-4 in their last 14 versus a team with a winning record and 7-2 in their last nine versus a pitcher with a WHIP less than 1.15. The under is 5-2 in Atlanta’s last seven in game one of a series and 7-3 in their last 10 with a total of 9.0-10.5.
PICK: I’m going to take the Padres here. That’s somewhat contingent on Darvish having a good start, though. He’s been pretty sketchy over his last two outings, totaling 9.0 innings with 14 hits, 10 earned runs, three homers allowed and 10 Ks. Prior to that however, Darvish had a solid pair of starts with just two earned on eight hits in 12.0 innings. If he can recapture some of that San Diego should have the inside track on a win.
