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Nationals vs. Padres Prediction and Odds for Thursday, August 18 (Yu Darvish to Dominate Washington)

By Josh Yourish

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Yu Darvish (11)
San Diego Padres starting pitcher Yu Darvish (11) / Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
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The Washington Nationals head across the country to kickoff a west coast road trip against the San Diego Padres tonight at Petco Park. The Nationals are still yet to reach 40 wins on the season as they sit at 39-80, the worst record in baseball. San Diego is 66-54 and occupying the third and final Wild Card spot in the National League

Tonight, Anibal Sanchez makes the start for the Nationals, his seventh this season, and Yu Darvish takes the mound for the 23rd time in 2022. 

You can find odds for this late-night matchup on the west coast at WynnBET Sportsbook. 

Nationals vs. Padres Odds, Run Line and Total

Run Line

  • Nationals +1.5 (+152)
  • Padres -1.5 (-185)

Moneyline

  • Nationals +330
  • Padres -380

Total

  • 8.0 (Over -105 / Under -115)

Nationals vs. Padres Prediction and Pick

Juan Soto has played three games against his former team already this season and the Padres are up in the season series, 2-1. In those three games, Soto has four hits, two RBI and notably a .500 OBP. Not enough evidence to say that Soto owns his former team, but he may be seeking revenge for not receiving the long-term offer he wanted. 

Anibal Sanchez is the pitcher that Soto will face tonight. After not pitching in 2021, Sanchez has made six starts for the Nats this season and worked to a 7.20 ERA and 0-5 record. He did pitch a bit better his last time out, a Nationals win over the Padres, but is clearly not expected to do anything but eat innings and cash paychecks. 

Yu Darvish was on the losing side of that 4-3 Washington win five days ago and it dropped his record to 10-6. Darvish has a 3.40 ERA on the season, which jumped after giving up four runs over six innings to the Nats. Though he did have nine strikeouts in that one. 

Unless the run line jumps to -2.5 for San Diego then I don’t see much value in betting this one. It seems like San Diego will win big and the books have hedged well against that. The best bet I can see is Darvish over 6.5 strikeouts. He has gone over that total in seven of his last nine starts. 

Pick: Darvish Over 6.5 Ks (-105) 

Follow all Josh’s bets HERE

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