The MLB betting action goes on with a 14-game Friday card, including the National League showdown at Petco Park in San Diego, California, so we bring you the best Pirates vs. Padres betting pick and odds. 

Pittsburgh and San Diego open a three-game series, their second and final of the 2022 season. On the first day of May, the Padres beat the Pirates 5-2 to clinch a three-game set at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. San Diego is a firm -190 home fave for Friday’s contest, while Pittsburgh is listed as a +170 moneyline dog with a total of 7.0 runs on BetOnline Sportsbook.  

The Bucs aim for their second straight series W                          

The Pittsburgh Pirates just won a three-game home set against the Colorado Rockies. They won the closer 10-5 last Wednesday to clinch the series and improve to 18-25 on the season. The Bucs start a tough six-game road trip Friday, hoping to get things going at the plate. 

Pittsburgh has scored only three runs through the first two games of the Rockies series. The Bucs have dropped six of their previous nine contest, tallying only 27 runs in the process. They own the worst run differential in the majors, but the Pirates are still sitting at the third spot in the NL Central. 

Over their last six games, the Pirates have scored 24 runs while slashing .226/.313/.387 with six home runs and 12 doubles in 199 at-bats. On the pitching side of things, they’ve recorded a pedestrian 4.91 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, and .293 batting average against. Jose Quintana will take the mound Friday, and the 33-year-old lefty has been a bright spot in the Bucs rotation thus far. He’s 1-2 in eight starts, but Quintana sports a 2.43 ERA, 3.26 FIP, 1.18 WHIP, and 34/15 K/BB ratio through 40.2 innings of work. 

The Padres look to snap their two-game skid                 

The Padres lost to Milwaukee 2-1 this past Wednesday and dropped a three-game set at home. They’ve scored only five runs in total against the Brewers’ stellar pitching after unloading ten in a single game against the San Francisco Giants on the road. 

San Diego fell to 28-16, sitting at the second spot in the NL West, a game and a half behind the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Padres have won five of their last seven contests, scoring 27 runs in the process and yielding only 17 in a return. 

Sean Manaea will toe the rubber Friday and meet the Pirates for the second time this season. On the last day of April, the 30-year-old lefty yielded three earned runs on five hits and three walks across 6.2 innings of work in a no-decision, but the Padres eventually lost to Pittsburgh 7-6. Manaea is 2-3 with a 4.04 ERA, 3.71 FIP, 1.12 WHIP, and 55/16 K/BB ratio in eight starts (49 innings) in 2022. 

Trends:

Pittsburgh: 

  • 3-6 in the last nine games overall 
  • 2-5 in the last seven games against San Diego 

San Diego:

  • 5-2 in the last seven games overall  
  • 10-5 in the last 15 games against the NL Central 

Pittsburgh Pirates vs. San Diego Padres Pick 

Jose Quintana is coming off his worst start of the season. The veteran southpaw got heat by the Cards in a 5-4 defeat, yielding five runs (two earned) on seven hits and a walk across 3.2 frames. The Padres are batting well against the lefties this season, and five of the current Pads went yard against Quintana – Manny Machado, Robinson Cano, Trent Grisham, Eric Hosmer, and Ha-Seong Kim. 

Machado is a hitting machine at the moment, sporting a .361/.437/.590 triple-slash and a 202 OPS+. He’s had 14 hits in his last 38 at-bats. Jose Quintana and his relievers could easily struggle in this matchup, and the Bucs’ bullpen has recorded a 4.80 ERA and 4.02 FIP over the last seven days while striking out only 6.30 per nine frames. 

Pick: Take San Diego Padres at -190                         

The Total:

The Padres’ bullpen has had ups and downs, but in the last seven days, it’s recorded a shiny 1.64 ERA and .255 BABIP. The Pirates will look to score early, as they’ve already tortured Sean Manaea for three runs in their previous meeting earlier in the season. 

It’s hard to trust both Manaea and Pittsburgh. The Padres have scored 18 runs in their previous three-game set against the Pirates and yielded 12 in a return. 

Pick: Go over 7.0 runs at -120