PADRES vs DODGERS FREE PICK, MLB FREE PICKS, MLB PREDICTION 9/24/24
J.A. Cavalier- Sep 24, 2024
- 4 min read
SAN DIEGO @ LA DODGERS (LAD -115, 8.5)
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PADRES @ DODGERS 9/24/24
The San Diego Padres (90-66) and Los Angeles Dodgers (93-63) square off in a three-game series on Tuesday between the two best teams in the NL West. Both teams were off on Monday. The Dodgers just won two of three against the visiting Rockies, while San Diego just defeated the White Sox at home. After winning 7 of their 10 games this season against the Dodgers, the Padres have taken control of the season series. Los Angeles will start Landon Knack (3.39 ERA), while San Diego will start with Michael King (3.04 ERA).
The Padres, who currently own the fourth-best record in baseball, already have 90 wins and have the inside track on the season series. They don’t have a playoff berth just yet though. The Padres and Diamondbacks are currently positioned to secure a wild card spot. The NL West, which has been strong all season, has a chance to send three teams to the postseason. The Padres have a three-game lead over the rest of the field and a chance to secure the top wild card spot, which they can do with a successful series against the Dodgers.
San Diego defeated the White Sox in their most recent game, handing them their 120th loss of the year, tying them for the most losses by any team since 1900. In the eighth inning, Fernando Tatis Jr. homered to provide the game-winning runs. It was his 20th homer of the season. He is the fourth Padre to reach that number and he did it in about 50 fewer games. Manny Machado leads San Diego in homers with 29 and RBIs with 104. Jackson Merrill and Jurickson Profar each have 24 home runs for the Padres.
King, who has a 12-9 record, will be making his 30th start of the season for the Padres. However, in his last five starts, the team has only gone 1-4. King has a 3.04 ERA and 198 strikeouts, which ranks him ninth in Major League Baseball. King gave up two earned runs in seven innings of work during his most recent start against the Astros.
The Dodgers have dominated the NL West for the most of the season, but going into this crucial series, their lead is just three games. The Padres and Dodgers would enter their final series with identical records if the Padres were to sweep the Dodgers. In their final games, the Padres will play the Diamondbacks, and the Dodgers will play the Rockies.
Shohei Ohtani is the first player in Major League Baseball history to have a 50-50 year in both home runs and stolen bases, and he is still breaking records with 53 and 55 respectively. Teoscar Hernandez, who bats cleanup after Ohtani, Betts, and Freeman at the top of the order, is also having a good season for the Dodgers. He currently has 31 home runs and 93 RBIs.
Knack is 3-4 this season and is making his 12th start of the season for the Dodgers. In his previous five starts, the team has gone 3-2 overall. Knack has a 3.39 ERA and 61 strikeouts against 17 walks this season. He won his most recent start against the Marlins by pitching five scoreless innings.
The Dodgers have won 6 of their last 8 games and have scored 70 runs in the process. They scored at least 6 runs in all of the victories, including a 20-run outburst against Miami on Sept. 19. Ohtani hit three home runs in that game and finished with 10 RBIs.
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FREE PICK: PADRES-DODGERS UNDER 8.5
This series is going to be a battle. These two pitchers tonight have been in good form. Michael King (12-9, 2.93) has allowed 2 or fewer ER in his last seven straight starts and 12 of his last 13. The Under is 8-5 in those 13 starts. Landon Knack has a sub-4.00 (3.39) ERA and 6 of his last 9 starts have all landed on the Under. Both teams have great bullpens too. The Dodgers are 8th in bullpen ERA. The Padres are 11th. The first game of this series will be a pitcher’s duel.
FREE PICK: ROYALS-NATIONALS UNDER 7.5
Cole Ragans goes for Kansas City tonight. He’s 11-9 with a 3.29 ERA and he’s been in really good form lately. He’s allowed 2 or fewer ER in 4 of his last 5 starts. All five of those starts went Under the total. All of the posted totals were 8 or less. Mitchell Parker (7-10, 4.44) starts for Washington. He’s given up some runs as of late - 5.59 ERA in Sept. - but the Royals have really struggled against LHP. Parker may not be the best, but he may be good enough to tame the Royals for a night, especially with KC on the road. The Royals are just 3-8 in the last 11 road games.
FREE PICK: CARDINALS-ROCKIES UNDER 11
Ryan Feltner starts for Colorado. He just might have figured out how to pitch at Coors Field. Feltner has allowed 2 or fewer ER in 5 of his last 6 home starts. He’s also allowed 2 or fewer ER in 10 of his last 13 starts overall. He’ll go up against a St. Louis lineup that ranks 25th in MLB in scoring and they’ve scored 3 or fewer runs in 7 of their last 10 games. The Cardinals will start Michael McGreevy. He’s only appeared in two games and he’s only allowed 1 ER in 10 innings. The total has gone Under in 4 of the last 6 Cardinals-Rockies games.
