May 20, 2022, 11:22 am ET in MLB
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Expert Top Pick of the Day: San Diego Padres vs. San Francisco Giants

Expert Top Pick of the Day: San Diego Padres vs. San Francisco Giants

The Padres and Giants will meet for the second time this season to start a three-game series in San Francisco. The Giants won two of three games the last time these two teams met during the first week of the regular season.

Both teams are trailing the Dodgers in the battle for the NL West Division. The Padres are just 1.5 games behind LA, with the Giants three games back in third place. 

San Diego took two of three games from Philadelphia, winning the last matchup 2-0 on Thursday, their second shutout win against the Phillies. Yu Darvish pitched seven scoreless innings to secure the win.

The Giants just completed a three-game series in Colorado, where they won the first two. They lost the final game 5-3 on Wednesday.  

 San Diego Padres vs. San Francisco Giants Schedule

  • Date: Friday, May 20, 2022
  • Time: 07:15 PM PDT
  • Location: Oracle Park, San Francisco, CA

Padres Need To Put Wins Together

The Padres have had winning streaks of four games on three different occasions this season. However, since the end of April, they have not been able to put together more than two straight wins and are 6-4 in their last ten games. They are scoring above average with 4.43 runs per game but are batting just .226, which is 23rd in the Majors and might explain their inconsistent play. 

Tonight, they send lefty Sean Manea to the mound. He is 2-3 with a 3.77 ERA and has allowed nine runs in his last three starts.

Teams have been hitting well against him recently, as his opponents’ batting average is .260. Manea has had some success against the Giants and has a 2-3 record with a 2.72 ERA against them in his career. 

Giants Trying To Keep Pace With Dodgers

The Giants sit just behind the Dodgers for first place in the NL West and are trying to gain on their 1.5-game division lead. However, Los Angeles is hot once again and has won five straight, while San Francisco is 2-3 in the last five games after their six-game winning streak, which ended a week ago. They took two games from the Rockies this week, with the last game of the series being a 5-3 loss on Wednesday night. 

Jakob Junis will get the start tonight for the Giants. This season he’s made two starts and is 1-1 with a 1.74 ERA in four games.

He had two relief appearances which were five innings each, so he should have no problem making it to the sixth inning, where he’ll likely hand the ball over to the bullpen. He has allowed four runs in 10.2 innings as a starter. 

San Diego Padres vs. San Francisco Giants Odds Comparison

The Padres are 10-4 straight up in their last 14 games on the road, and the total has gone under in four of their previous six games against the Giants away from home. San Francisco is 5-0 in their last five home games, and the total has gone over in seven of their previous nine games.

  • DraftKings has San Francisco at -115, and the game total is 7.5. 
  • FanDuel has San Francisco at -112, and the game total is 7.5.
  • Caesars has San Francisco at -115, and the game total is 7.5.

Godds Pick or Prediction of the Game

San Francisco is the slight favorite against the Padres, as it was the Giants who won two of three the last time these two teams clashed at their home field.

San Francisco hasn’t done well against lefties this season, hitting just .229, but has played well against San Diego at Oracle Park.Godds Pick/Prediction: The Giants will win, and the total stays under.