The San Diego Padres lead the NL West by three games over the San Francisco Giants. Last year the Padres fell 20 games out of first place as they watched the Los Angeles Dodgers win the division, and the Colorado Rockies take the NL wild card. By the time everyone was betting on NCAA football last year, the Padres were out of the playoff race. Now they lead the pack.
The Atlanta Braves were a young team last year that was told it would have to grow and develop for a few years before it could think of challenging for the NL East pennant again. Well, the MLB betting world is singing a different tune now as the young Braves are leading the NL East by six and half games over the New York Mets. The highly favored Philadelphia Phillies are seven games behind the Braves.
Even with the large cushions each of these teams have in their divisions, neither team is in the mood to relinquish a single game in the standings. Since there are no ties in baseball, someone is giving up a little ground in this game.
Clayton Richard takes the mound for the Padres and brings a 7-4 record along with a 3.53 ERA. Richard is not a strike-out pitcher, he gets the other team to hit to his defense. That means when his game is off, he loses. He gives up a lot of hits and runs, and he relies primarily on the Padre offense to win games for him.
Tim Hudson is pitching for the Braves, and he has been a stellar performer for the Braves all season long. Hudson has a 9-5 record along with a 2.60 ERA. He has had some control problems his last couple of outings, but he has shown the ability to recover from his issues and get wins when he needs them.
It is possible that Clayton Richard may not be in the starting rotation for the Padres when the playoffs start. He relies too much on his defense, and he gets his bullpen involved in games too early to be effective in the playoffs. That means that this particular game may be a case of bad timing for the Padres. With Richard starting, the Braves may have a field day with putting the ball into play.
The Braves are trying to get Hudson in a groove before the playoffs start, and facing a quality team like the Padres is a good way to do it. Look for Hudson to shut down the Padres' bats in this game, and give himself a start on that playoff momentum the Braves are looking for.
Pick: Atlanta Braves 3-1
