MLB weekend best bets: Padres to stay hot vs. Nationals
After a quiet Thursday night, baseball is back in full force this weekend with 30 games scheduled over the next couple of days.
Let's dig into a couple that stand out.
Padres (-250) @ Nationals (+210)
Aug 12, 7:05 p.m. ET
The Padres appear to be coming out of their rut, having combined for 20 runs over consecutive wins.
Such an offensive explosion was bound to happen sooner rather than later with all the talent they boast. It should continue Friday night against the Nationals.
Cory Abbott will be tasked with slowing the Padres down in the early going - an unlikely scenario. He has been absolutely crushed over the last month, allowing eight runs and five homers and posting a 9.55 FIP in just under 12 innings of work.
Now he draws a loaded Padres lineup that has feasted on right-handed pitching in recent weeks. San Diego sits third in wOBA and fourth in ISO versus righties in August.
Abbott, an extreme fly-ball pitcher, has a tough time keeping the ball in the park against anybody. Facing this Padres lineup will only make matters worse.
While Mike Clevinger is not the elite pitcher he was a couple years ago, he's still a formidable arm and should keep the Nationals in check.
They lack power sans Juan Soto and Josh Bell, and their young bats haven't developed much patience at the plate. They rank second to last in walk rate (4.9%) against righties this month.
Clevinger is in a good spot to put forth a quality start, which would put the Padres well on their way to another multi-run victory.
Bet: Padres -1.5 (-150)
Brewers (TBD) @ Cardinals (TBD)
Aug 13, 7:15 p.m. ET
The Brewers have won their last two but have come out on top in just three of their last nine games.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals have won eight of their last 10 and now find themselves sitting atop the NL Central.
Regardless of what happens in the series opener - a game in which the Cardinals are heavily favored - I like the Brewers to get a positive result Saturday.
They will be starting Corbin Burnes, who's in fine form. He has worked nearly 30 innings over the past 30 days, striking out nearly 12.5 batters per nine and managing a 3.07 xFIP in that span.
Adam Wainwright is lagging a couple steps behind as he posted a 4.62 xFIP while striking out about 7.5 batters per nine.
Burnes figures to give the Brewers a clear pitching advantage.
It just so happens that since the beginning of July, the Brewers have also hit better, at least against righties. They are tied with the Blue Jays for second in wOBA (.355), while no team owns a higher ISO (.217). And it's not just home cooking.
Over the same span, the Brewers have posted a .350 wOBA and .216 ISO on the road. Those are nearly identical numbers.
Given how well they've hit righties and the pitching advantage Burnes should provide, the Brewers are in a good spot to pick up an important divisional win Saturday evening.
Bet: Brewers (good to -120)
Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.