Henry Roldán
Friday’s game between the Padres vs Mets will mark the end of the first day of Wild Card games in the National League.
Despite making the most aggressive bids in the preseason market, San Diego finished as the senior circuit’s second wild card, qualifying in the closing days of the regular round. Meanwhile, New York squandered an 11-game lead after the mid-season break to lose the East division lead to the Braves.
Without further ado, at JefeBet we leave you with our Padres vs Mets predictions and betting preview.
Predictions and Betting Preview for the San Diego Padres vs New York Mets MLB Wild Card National League Game on October 7, 2022
- Where: Citi Field – New York City, New York.
- When: Friday, October 7, 2022, 8:07 PM E.T.
Odds courtesy of BetMGM.
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Betting on the San Diego Padres
- Season record: 89-73 (2nd wild card).
- Regular round vs Mets: 4-2.
- Runline: (-1.5, -189).
- Moneyline: (+120).
- Over/Under: 6.
The pressure on the Padres for this wild card series is very high after getting Juan Soto, Josh Bell and Brandon Drury in the trade market, and having been on the verge of being eliminated from the postseason.
Bob Melvin’s team finished 22 games behind the Dodgers in their division and will now have to face a Mets team that is in the doldrums after losing in the final week. To do so, they must defeat them twice on the road. The Padres have a 45-36 record playing away games, the fourth best in the National League.
If they are to have any chance against the great pitching of the Mets, their offense must be extremely improved. Despite having some huge names, the offense has struggled, and in their last nine games, they only scored more than five runs on two occasionsDid Fernando Tatis Jr.’s absence affect them? Possibly, but with Manny Machado, Soto, Bell, and Drury in the lineup, there is no excuse for so few runs.
The first game on the mound will feature Japan’s Yu Darvish, who was unhittable in the month of September, posting a 1.89 ERA in six starts. Furthermore, the right-hander only worked less than six innings in two of his 30 starts, had a 3.50 ERA after 108 innings on the road, and held the Mets scoreless in two starts by allowing just one run and striking out 15 batters in 14 innings.
Starting pitcher: Yu Darvish (16-8, 3.10 EFE / Regular round).
Injured: Mike Clevinger (overall body aches).
Betting on the New York Mets
- Season record: 101-61 (1st wild card).
- Regular round vs Padres: 2-4.
- Runline: (-1.5, +155).
- Moneyline: (-145).
- Over/Under: 6.
The Mets went from fighting for the best record in the National League with the Dodgers to being displaced from the lead of the Eastern Division by the Braves, a team with whom they were tied in the standings, but who beat them in the series and relegated them to the wild card.
Now Buck Showalter’s team must quickly turn the page and take advantage of their home field advantage against the Padres, considering that, during the regular round, they were the third-best team winning games at home with a 54-27 record.
On the offensive side, the Mets must take advantage of their ability to get on base (second in OBP at .332) to take an early lead against San Diego’s admirable pitching; in this way, they’ll give peace of mind to a pitching staff that finished with the seventh-best collective efficiency in the Major Leagues, posting a 3.58 ERA.
One of the architects of this good performance was Max Scherzer, the stellar pitcher who will be in charge of opening Game 1 against the Padres while waiting for Jacob DeGrom to be able to pitch the second game due to problems with a blister. In 10 home starts, Scherzer’s ERA was just 1.67 and opponents batted .200 against him, while against the Padres he pitched a quality start, allowing two runs and striking out eight in six innings.
Starting pitcher: Max Scherzer (11-5, 2.29 EFE / Regular round).
Injured: Tylor Megill (COVID-19 roster), Darin Ruf (neck), Tommy Hunter (back), Brett Baty (thumb), Starling Marte (finger)
JefeBet Prediction
Despite the fact that the Over won in four of the six games played between these teams this season, Darvish and Scherzer have previously faced off in a pitching duel.
In that game, the Padres won 1-4, with Darvish pitching seven one-run innings and Scherzer six two-run innings. For this Friday, the result should be similar, and we can take into account that the Under has a 5-2 record in the last seven games in New York.
Prediction: Under (SD 2 – NYM 3).
