Diamondbacks vs Padres Opening Day Betting Odds and Prediction April 7
Arizona Diamondbacks vs San Diego Padres Betting Preview
Play Ball! WagerTalk MLB analyst Brian Ochsner offers his Diamondbacks vs Padres Opening Day betting preview for Thursday, April 7. San Diego starter Yu Darvish has had a rocky history at Chase Field. Can he shake the desert demons and put together a strong outing tonight?
Stay on top of the latest MLB updates direct from Las Vegas!
| Thursday, April 7 | MLB Betting Notes, Courtesy of Caesars |
|---|---|
| Moneyline: | San Diego Padres -140 at Arizona Diamondbacks +130 |
| Runline: | Padres -1.5 (+115) / Diamondbacks +1.5 (-135) |
| Total: | 9 Runs (-110 Each Way) |
| Game Time: | 9:40pm ET / 6:40pm PT |
| Where: | Chase Field in Arizona |
| Weather: | Dome |
Diamondbacks vs Padres Analysis
The San Diego Padres visit the rebuilding Arizona Diamondbacks on Opening Day at Chase Field. The Padres start the season with a new veteran manager in Bob Melvin, and without star SS Fernando Tatis Jr. until mid-summer after the star shortstop injured his wrist in an off-season motorcycle accident.
Darvish on the Decline?
While some analysts consider Yu Darvish the staff ace (he’s the Opening Day starter), I don’t think last year’s numbers bear that out. After the league started cracking down on pitchers using sticky substances, the right-hander’s stats took a tumble. From July until the rest of the season, he only had three quality starts and gave up multiple earned runs in every other game.
Chase Field hasn’t been friendly to the 35-year-old right-hander. In five career starts, he’s compiled a 2-2 record with a 6.38 ERA, a 1.50 WHIP, eight walks and 39 strikeouts over 24 innings.
Early Season Betting Tip: For DFS and wagering purposes, you may want to keep an eye on how Darvish performs in his first few starts.
Manny Machado and his teammates will have to try and make up the difference until Tatis Jr. returns to the lineup. The projected batting lineup doesn’t really impress me after you get past Machado, Trent Grisham and Jake Cronenworth.
Luke Voit is the projected clean-up hitter, but hit only .239 and 11 home runs last year with the Yankees. Eric Hosmer and Wil Myers are power hitters who only hit 12 and 17 home runs last year, Austin Nola is a good hitting catcher, then Jurickson Profar and Ha-Seong Kim don’t have a lot of pop at the plate.
MadBum on the Mound
The best thing you can say about the Diamondbacks is they probably can’t do any worse than last year’s 52-win season. The team is obviously in rebuilding mode, but have some talented players in their lineup that include C/OF Daulton Varsho, 2B/SS/OF Ketel Marte, 1B Christian Walker and OF David Peralta.
The top half of the starting rotation also gives Arizona fans a reason to be optimistic with Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly (who just signed a two-year extension with the club) and Madison Bumgarner. While he’s on the “back 9” of his career, MadBum is still a solid pitcher with a unique windup that’s tough for most hitters to see, and he’s had a good spring training.
The club also has a proven manager – 2017 Manager of the Year Torey Luvullo – and was lucky enough to land former Astros pitching coach Brent Strom. Strom is considered by some analysts to be the best pitching coach in baseball. The 73-year-old got bored with retirement after a week or two, and Arizona was more than glad to hire him on.
The D-Backs also improved the back end of their bullpen with Ian Kennedy as the setup man and Mark Melancon in the closer role.
Diamondbacks vs Padres Prediction
With a compressed Spring Training schedule this year, I think the pitchers have a slight edge over the hitters. MadBum had a good spring, and Darvish hasn’t pitched past the third inning in his past two starts at Chase Field.
The Diamondbacks are a talented team that’s trending in the right direction, while the Padres still have some question marks. My best bet for this game is Arizona on the moneyline at +130.
Interested in placing a bet on Thursday’s Diamondbacks vs Padres Opening Day clash? BetMGM is offering a $1,000 Risk-Free Bet for first-time bettors in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Indiana, Colorado, Tennessee, Iowa, Michigan, Virginia, Washington DC, Wyoming, Mississippi, Arizona and Louisiana.
2022 MLB Division Previews
Sportsmemo’s content team has the 2022 MLB season covered from every angle. Before this afternoon’s first pitch, check out the division previews from JM Sports, which highlight the incoming and outgoing players from each team. Content Manager Kyle Kargel, breaks down the DraftKings prop markets for most home runs, strikeouts and stolen bases. Check ’em out!
AL East
AL Central
AL West
NL East
NL Central
NL West
First Pitch | MLB Opening Day Predictions for April 7
Join Drew Martin and a rotating panel of guests for First Pitch as we break down the daily baseball slate from a betting perspective. The Atlanta Braves will raise their 2021 World Series banner at Truist Park tonight. Will they cap off the festivities with an Opening Night win over Cincinnati? Join WagerTalk’s team of MLB betting experts every weekday at 1:45pm ET / 10:45am PT for First Pitch as we discuss the baseball betting slate.
WagerTalk Live Odds Screen
WagerTalk’s live odds screen features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the MLB moneylines, run lines and betting percentages for all of Thursday’s Opening Day games, including this Diamondbacks vs Padres showdown, from your desktop or phone.
**************************************************
Meet the Author
Brian Ochsner graduated from Kansas State University with degrees in Accounting and Agribusiness. He’s a life-long baseball fan and “numbers guy” who tolerates the Colorado Rockies (bad ownership), and is a Denver Broncos and Kansas State Wildcats fan. Along with his interest in the sports wagering industry, he enjoys eating good BBQ, reading books on marketing, finance and economics, and playing Texas Hold ‘Em poker.
Looking for more free sports picks and sports betting tips?
- Latest Betting Odds and Public Action: Vegas lines updated in real time, including who the public is betting on.
- Last Minute Handicapping Advice: Check out our extensive library of handicapping tips and advice from professional Vegas handicappers (we also recommend taking the time to look over our sports betting tips video library)
- Want an expert opinion? Check out the latest Free Sports Picks and Best Bets from our team of expert sports handicappers.
Make sure to bookmark all the above!
