Brandon Woodruff will get the start for the Brewers (70-57, 35-27 home) as they host the Padres (61-67, 26-34 away) at American Family Field. The Padres will give the starting nod to Yu Darvish. Check out my prediction for game one of this National League matchup between the San Diego Padres and Milwaukee Brewers.

SAN DIEGO PADRES VS MILWAUKEE BREWERS BETTING PICK

The Pick: San Diego Padres +101

This game will be played at American Family Field at 8:10 ET on Friday, August 25th.

WHY BET THE SAN DIEGO PADRES:

  • Milwaukee is on a four game winning streak when the underdog.
  • So far this year, the Padres lead the season series against the Brewers 1-3.
  • Brandon Woodruff has given up five away runs across his last three starts.

SAN DIEGO PADRES SEEK TO IMPROVE THEIR ROAD RECORD

128 games into the season, the Padres have a record of 61-67, putting them 4th in the NL West. This mark includes an overall series 16-20-5. At home, they are 35-33 compared to 26-34 on the road.

Yu Darvish has made 23 appearances this season, amassing an 8-9 record with a 4.35 ERA and 138 strikeouts. His WHIP stands at 1.28 and opponents are slugging .411 against him. Darvish is averaging 9.39 strikeouts per nine innings and has a 5-3 record on the road, along with an ERA of 5.41 away from home. At home, he is 3-6 with an ERA of 4.83.

After a defeat to the Diamondbacks, Yu Darvish’s most recent outing saw him surrender four runs on nine hits in five innings of work.

As a team, San Diego has scuffled at the plate over their last ten games, with a combined batting average of just .194. Compared to other teams, this is just 26th in that span. When looking at the team’s power numbers, they have a season-long slugging percentage of .408% while going deep a total of 161 times (10th). Overall, the Padres are 14th in the MLB at 4.5 runs per contest.

Juan Soto has been one of the San Diego Padres’ most prolific hitters this season. His batting average stands at .259, and he has driven in 76 runs thus far. Additionally, Soto has launched 24 home runs to date.

WILL THE MILWAUKEE BREWERS TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS AT HOME?

On an overall record of 70-57, the Brewers are 1st in the NL Central. On the road, Milwaukee has put together a record of 35-30 while going 35-27 at home. Against teams with below .500 records, the club has gone 33-33. Overall, the Brewers have played in 40 series, going 21-17-2.

Brandon Woodruff has been impressive in five outings this season, boasting a .396 slugging percentage allowed and a WHIP of .86. His record stands at 2-1 with an ERA of 2.89, and he has tallied 30 strikeouts so far, averaging 9.64 K/9 innings. On the road, Woodruff is 1-0 with an ERA of 3.70, while his home record is 1-1 with an ERA of 1.80.

Brandon Woodruff’s most recent outing saw him surrender three hits in 5 1/3 innings, resulting in four earned runs. Although he did not factor into the decision, the Brewers emerged victorious with a 9-8 triumph over the Rangers.

The Brewers’ offense comes into today’s game with a collective batting average of .235 and are averaging 4.3 runs per game for the season. Looking at their ten most recent games, Milwaukee has gone deep 10 times, which is ranked 11th in that time. To date, the team’s OPS is .694 to go along with an on base percentage of .314.

Tyrone Taylor has been a key contributor to the Brewers’ offense over their last five games, leading the team in hits and batting .500. On the season, Taylor is hitting .225 with 18 RBIs.