The National League Wild Card series matchup between the Braves and Padres kicks off on Tuesday night with Atlanta heading to San Diego following their win over the Mets in game two of their double-header matchup on Monday.

For our Braves vs. Padres predictions we have to examine both of these teams, who will be pitching for the Braves is the biggest question of the day after Chris Sale was scratched due to back spasms yesterday and will not be ready to go for this Game 1 matchup either.

Meanwhile, the Padres are sending right-hander Michael King to go out and get them an early 1-0 series lead.

 

 

 

Braves vs. Padres Predictions For NL Wild Card Game 1

For our Braves vs. Padres predictions heading into Game 1 we have to take a look at exactly what these two teams bring to the table.

For the road team, Atlanta is traveling across the country after playing a double-header yesterday in Atlanta. The Braves really struggled this season, dealing with injuries to top starters in Spencer Strider, Ronald Acuna, Austin Riley and Ozzie Albies.

Matt Olson was not able to repeat last year’s breakout performance, and the team got little production from their outfield.

The Braves were carried by their pitching staff with Chris Sale likely winning the NL Cy Young.

Unfortunately for the Braves, Sale is currently not available due to back spasms, the team had to pitch Reynaldo Lopez on Saturday and then used him again in relief yesterday. They also started Spencer Schwellenbach in Game 1 yesterday. Max Fried and Charlie Morton would also be pitching on short rest.

None of these are good options given the fact that the Padres were one of the better offensive teams in baseball.

For the Padres, they are led by a strong pitching staff as well with tonight’s starter Michael King proving worthy of being the prized piece in the Juan Soto trade as he went 13-9 with a 2.95 ERA and 201 strikeouts in his first full season as a starting pitcher.

The Padres offense is also loaded as they have the National League batting champion Luis Arraez along with the potential National League Rookie of the Year in Jackson Merrill. We saw Jurickson Profar have a season that showed why he was once the number one prospect in all of baseball all the while Manny Machado hit 29 home runs and Fernando Tatis launched 21 despite playing in just 102 games.

This game is a mismatch, and our Braves vs. Padres prediction will explain why.

 

 

 

San Diego Padres: Michael King Steps Towards Elite Status

When you are the centerpiece of a trade that involves Juan Soto, you have quite the expectations placed on you and King answered those expectations and then some.

Despite never being a full-time starter, King stepped into a starter role this season and was dominant, going 13-9 with a 2.95 ERA while striking out 201 over 173.2 innings. 

His elite pitching helped the Padres have one of the more formidable 1-2 punches in all of baseball with Dylan Cease putting together an equally as strong season.

For King to really cement his status and help the Padres fans forget about Juan Soto he will need to perform in the playoffs and getting the Padres a Game 1 win over the Braves will go a long way to checking off that box.

 

 

 

Atlanta Braves: Can The Braves Actually Compete?

On paper, the Braves do not match up with this team offensively and now the questions regarding their pitching staff has to make you wonder whether or not they can compete in this series.

If Chris Sale was healthy, you likely would have given the Braves at least a chance to win one game but if Sale is not able to go, this Padres lineup is really going to put the Braves staff to the test and this series could be over quickly if he isn’t able to get on the mound.

 

 

 

Braves vs. Padres Odds, Spreads, Total & Betting Lines

For our Braves vs. Padres predictions, here are the current odds, spreads totals and betting lines from DraftKings Sportsbook:

Run Line

  • Braves +1.5 (-162)
  • Padres -1.5 (+136)

Moneyline

  • Braves: +150
  • Padres: -180

Total

  • 7.0 (Over -120/Under +100)

 

 

 

Braves vs. Padres Starting Pitcher & Lineup

Ian Anderson, Atlanta Braves? TBD

If you believe some of the reports on twitter it is looking like Ian Anderson may be the Braves Game 1 starter. This has not yet been confirmed by the Braves themselves so officially the Braves starter is still TBD.

Anderson hasn’t pitched in the MLB since 2022 where he had a 5.00 ERA over 22 starts for the Braves.

That said, Anderson has been lights out in the postseason during his MLB career, making eight career starts between 2020 and 2021 while allowing just five earned runs over 35.2 innings while striking out 40.

In Triple-A this season Anderson made 10 starts, going 3-2 with a 3.96 ERA with 53 strikeouts over 52.1 innings.

Michael King, San Diego Padres

I’ve written about King plenty here, so for the sake of repetition, he is in a great spot here today and is coming off of a breakout season for the Padres in his first year as a full-time starting pitcher.

Given the Braves general offensive woes and high strikeout rate this season, we are looking at a great spot for King here today.

 

 

 

Braves vs. Padres Michael King Over 5.5 Strikeouts on DraftKings Sportsbook

We are going all-in here on Padres starter Michael King. He had a 10.4 K/9 on the year with a 27.7% strikeout rate.

The Braves as a team had the 10th highest strikeout rate this season against right-handed pitching at 23.9%.

King has finished with a total higher than 5.5 strikeouts in 10 of his last 12 starts and of his 30 starts this season he had over 5.5 strikeouts in 21 of those 30 outings.

For our Braves vs. Padres predictions here today let's ride the strikeouts over for Michael King.

 

 

 

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