Henry Roldán
Two of the top teams favored to win the National League in this 2023 MLB season will face off for the second game of a three-game series when the Braves vs Padres takes place at Petco Park on Tuesday.
San Diego took the first series last week with a 3-1 victory, but Atlanta struck first this time with an outstanding pitching performance that resulted in a 2-0 win. Spencer Strider will take the mound for the visitors, while Blake Snell will start for the home team.
Without further ado, JefeBet brings you the best preview of the exciting match-up: Atlanta Braves vs San Diego Padres.
Predictions and Betting Preview for the Braves vs Padres MLB Regular Season Game on April 18, 2023
- Where: Petco Park, San Diego, California
- When: Tuesday, April 18, 2023, 9:40 PM ET
Betting on the Atlanta Braves
- Regular Season Record: 13-4
The Braves are still holding onto the best record in the National League and leading the East division after winning their seventh consecutive game, with their last loss coming from San Diego on Sunday, April 9th.
Excluding Monday’s game, Atlanta’s pitching was ranked ninth in MLB with an ERA of 3.75, a number that undoubtedly dropped thanks to the outstanding performance of their ace, Max Fried, who returned from the injured list with five scoreless innings.
That solid pitching is backed up by an offense that, while only scoring two runs yesterday, ranks third in the Major Leagues with 89 runs scored and third in OBP with a .352. They also have one of the best hitters in the league: Ronald Acuña Jr. The Venezuelan went 3-for-5 on Monday and remains second in the league with a .389 batting average.
To try to secure the series, the Braves will have Spencer Strider on the mound. The right-hander has failed to make it past the fifth inning in his last two starts, allowing three runs in each with nine strikeouts. He has only pitched 3.2 innings with three walks and three strikeouts against the Padres.
Starting Pitcher: Spencer Strider (1-0, 3.38 ERA)
Betting on the San Diego Padres
- Regular Season Record: 8-10
The Padres are struggling to break out of their slow start to the season, falling for the fifth time in their last six games, including two consecutive shutouts. Despite being considered one of the most feared offenses in baseball, they have yet to show that production so far. In fact, they suffered their third shutout of the season on Monday, in just 18 games played.
In their last seven games, San Diego has only scored more than four runs once. Their OBP has dropped to .316, and only Xander Bogaerts and Nelson Cruz are batting over .255 among hitters with at least 40 at-bats.
With such low production, it seems like the pitching staff won’t be enough. Even though their collective ERA was 4.21 before Monday, in the first game of the series, they held one of the best offenses in the league to only two runs and still couldn’t win the game.
In order to level the playing field, the Padres will have Blake Snell on the mound, but he’s having a rough start to the season. The left-hander, who opened on Opening Day for San Diego, hasn’t been able to go past the fifth inning in any of his first three appearances and has an ERA of 6.92 with 10 walks and 16 strikeouts. Atlanta already punished him this year with four runs in 3.2 innings, and he has a career ERA of 4.50 in 10.0 innings against the Braves.
Starting Pitcher: Blake Snell (0-2, 6.92 ERA)
JefeBet Prediction
It’s true that the Padres’ offense has been frozen lately, but it seems almost impossible to see them getting shut out for a third consecutive game, even with the talented Strider on the mound.
San Diego was able to cause some damage to the right-hander during the first series between these two teams, and they should be able to manufacture some runs against Atlanta’s pitching on Tuesday.
On the other hand, the Braves are unlikely to be held to just two runs again. Atlanta’s offense has been firing on all cylinders, led by Ronald Acuña Jr., and they will be facing a struggling Snell on the mound.
The left-hander has not only shown his lack of control once again, but he also historically hasn’t performed well against the Braves. We don’t expect anything different on Tuesday.
Prediction: Over (ATL 4 – SD 5)
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