The San Diego Padres meet the San Francisco Giants at Petco Park for a four-match mini-series starting tonight. The playoffs look long gone for the Padres, but the Giants are in Wild Card territory. Here we look ahead to the series and tell you the best bets in our latest MLB betting picks.
The Padres have had a season to forget in 2023. It’s been a spectacular fall from grace for San Diego, who made it to the National League Championship Series last year, even defeating the Dodgers en route!
As for the Giants, they have it all to play for. Okay, along with the Diamondbacks, the Giants have been blown away by the Dodgers in the NL West. But there’s still a battle taking place for a Wild Card, and the Giants are in the mix.
But as things stand, only one of the Giants or the Diamondbacks would get the Wild Card, meaning any mistakes made during the season run-in could be pivotal.
At the moment, in betting to make the playoffs with BetOnline, the Giants are -135 yes and +105 no. The Diamondbacks are +115 yes and -145 no (that’s with BetUS). The odds on both franchises are telling us the best MLB betting sites think it’s not a done deal that either will still be in action when the postseason begins on October 3rd.
It won’t come as a surprise to see that the best MLB World Series betting sites don’t give either the Padres or the Giants much chance of winning the 2023 World Series.
The Padres are +12500, and the Giants are +3300. That puts both franchises some distance behind favorites, the Atlanta Braves, who are +300, and the LA Dodgers, who are +400. The Padres are as big as +1800 just to make it to the playoffs.
The betting in this match is close. The Padres start as the favorites at -125, with the Giants at +105.
On the handicap spread, the Padres are at +160 from -1.5, with the Giants at -180. Finally, on the over/under spread, over 8.5 is -120, with under 8.5 at -120. Our MLB betting table odds are from the best baseball betting sportsbooks. You can read more about these sites on our best online sportsbook reviews page.
| San Diego Padres vs San Francisco Giants Betting |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Padres | -125 | -125 | -125 |
| Giants | +105 | +105 | +105 |
| Handicap Line | |||
| Padres (-1.5) | +160 | +160 | +160 |
| Giants (+1.5) | -180 | -180 | -180 |
The Padres sit in a disappointing fourth place in the NL East. They’re a long way behind the Diamondbacks in third place and a long way clear of the Rockies, who sit bottom.
Their win percentage this year is just .463, which is way off the .549 they finished on in 2022.
They’ve just lost yet another series, losing the deciding match against the Cardinals 5-4 at the Busch Stadium, and this after leading 4-3 going into the final innings. It’s like nothing they do goes right at the moment.
They need to up their game. This season is gone. But they can still finish it strongly, and start 2024 on the front foot. Their defeat to the Cardinals last night showed that they are still fighting. And on another night, they would have won that match and the series.
As for the Giants, they beat the Cincinnati Reds 2-1 in their mini-series, but losing the final match at home 4-1 wasn’t in the script.
The Giants still sit second in the NL West, but their win percentage is .519, with the Diamondbacks sitting just behind them at .515.
The Diamondbacks lost their recent series 3-0 to the Dodgers, so last night’s final match against the Reds was an opportunity for the Giants to extend their lead, which they completely blew.
With things close between the Giants and the Diamondbacks, Gabe Kapler knows they can’t afford many losses like this. It was a bad defeat. And when it comes to getting Wild Card berths, it could come back to haunt the Giants.
In their last ten matches, the Padres are 3-7, the Giants are 5-5. At Petco Park, the Padres are 35-33, so they are stronger at home than a lot of sides in similar positions. On the road, the Giants are 31-33, which isn’t the best road record.
We’re going to go for a home win for the Padres for our pick. Okay, so it goes against the grain. But we’re looking at the form of the Padres at home, and the form of the Giants on the road, and we think this looks like the best value pick.
We’re also looking at backing overs in the total points market. A lot of the recent defeats for the Padres have been big ones. So if our pick on the Padres to win goes down, there is a good chance that the overs will come in, and at the very least cover our loss.
Hopefully, the Padres will win, and they will win a high-scoring match. Bringing both our picks home.
Check below for our list of the top sportsbooks where you can wager online:
About the Author
Dean is primarily a fan of English football who regularly attends games, and combining his hobby with his job, he is now a full-time sports betting writer. Rather than going down the educational route into sports journalism, Dean learned his trade by writing for his English football betting website since 2009, where he now boasts nearly 15 years of experience. After writing about football daily for years, Dean has taken the skills he learned and now uses them to great effect writing for numerous affiliate sites across the internet. A general all-around sports enthusiast with a passion for English football and cricket, Dean is also well able to turn his hand to writing about golf, tennis, F1, boxing, snooker, darts, and North American sports. Combining his extensive knowledge and experience with British humor and wit, Dean has developed into a trusted voice within the sports betting industry.
Read Dean's ProfileAsk Dean about this guide:
