San Diego Padres at Arizona Diamondbacks Betting Preview/Prop Picks

Major League Baseball is finally here as Opening Day is set for Thursday, April 7. There is a full slate of games set to take place, including the Arizona Diamondbacks hosting the San Diego Padres.

This is a really big year for the San Diego Padres as they are looking to make a run to the playoffs in the NL West. San Diego was expected to be a top team in baseball a year ago, but they faltered down the stretch.

Arizona comes into 2022 with very low expectations, as they were one of the worst teams in baseball a season ago. The Diamondbacks did get off to a great start in 2021, and they will be looking for the same thing to occur this year. 

The San Diego Padres are the moneyline betting favorites at -162 over the Arizona Diamondbacks. 

Darvish Pitching For Padres

The San Diego Padres are sending Yu Darvish to the mound on Thursday night, and he needs to be excellent for his team this season. Darvish has the tools to be one of the best pitchers in baseball, and he will have to lead the way for this staff.

San Diego should be one of the best offensive teams in baseball once they get going, and they have a lineup with plenty of power. Manny Machado led the team with 106 runs batted in a season ago, and he will be looking to do some damage in this one. 

San Diego is playing without Fernando Tatis Jr. to begin the season, and they are going to need several players to step up in his absence. 

Diamondbacks Looking to Surprise

The NL West is one of the best divisions in baseball this season, and most experts don’t give Arizona a chance of competing. The Diamondbacks really struggled in 2021, getting outscored by a total of 214 runs.

Arizona will have a future Hall of Fame pitcher on the mound as Madison Bumgarner is set to get the ball. Bumgarner went just 7-10 with a 4.67 ERA a season ago, but he still has what it takes to be one of the best pitchers in baseball. 

There are some holes in this lineup for the Diamondbacks, but there is also young talent as well. Arizona won’t overwhelm opposing pitchers on most nights, but they could find a way to sneak out some offense. 

Diamondbacks Deliver on Opening Day

This is a game that doesn’t look like it will be close on paper, but that’s simply not how baseball betting works. The starting pitching matchup in this game is better than you might expect, as Bumgarner always seems to deliver.

The absence of Fernando Tatis Jr. leaves a significant hole in the lineup for San Diego, and scoring runs might be an issue. This Diamondbacks lineup is better than what it looks like on paper, and they will find some offense against Darvish. 

There are going to be some upsets that take place on Thursday, and this game will be one of them. Bet the Arizona Diamondbacks -1.5 as they treat their home crowd to an impressive victory on Opening Day.

Prop Picks

Arizona (-130) OVER 3.5 Runs

Arizona averaged 4.19 runs per game last year, which ranked No. 25 in the league. That average increased to 4.56 runs per game at home. Scores have gone OVER in eight of the Diamondbacks’ last 11 games as a Vegas home underdog.

With Dunkel predicting an Arizona victory by the score of 6-5, take the Diamondbacks (-130) to finish OVER their Vegas team total of 3.5 runs against the Padres.

Pavin Smith (-185) OVER 0.5 Hits

Smith had 133 hits last year, which ranked No. 1 on the Diamondbacks. The Arizona right fielder had 18 hits in 70 at-bats (.257 average) against San Diego and 68 hits in 237 at-bats (.287 average) at home.

With Dunkel predicting an Arizona home victory while going OVER their team total, take Smith (-185) to collect at least one hit in the series opener against the Padres.

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