We’re in the full flow of the MLB season, which means it’s time to close out the weekend in the best way possible - with Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN! Tonight’s matchup features a battle of teams with expectations to represent their respective leagues in the 2025 World Series, and we’ve got our best Padres vs. Astros predictions for you.

We also have both a best bet from our Padres vs. Astros picks AND how fans in California and Texas can also make the most of the game with fantasy contests with a $1,000 Underdog promo code bonus!

 

 

 

Padres vs. Astros Predictions For MLB Sunday Night Baseball, 4/20

As fans often get to enjoy with these marquee matchups like Sunday Night Baseball, we’ve got a great pitching matchup to watch. San Diego is sending former Chicago White Sox ace Dylan Cease to the mound, while Houston lefty Framber Valdez is toeing the rubber opposite him.

Speaking of the cities involved here, it’s definitely worth keeping in mind that this game is in Space City, as the Padres have been remarkable at home this season (12-1 after starting 12-0). So, can Houston use the homefield advantage to come out on top? Well, San Diego has also been strong against lefties, so it may still be a tall task.

Rather than needing to trust either of these teams to come out on top under the bright lights of being on ESPN, our Padres vs. Astros predictions are focused on the player prop markets.

 

 

 

San Diego Padres: Jackson Merrill Injury Update

We'll be getting more into injury news after sharing the latest Padres vs. Astros odds and the best bet from our Padres vs. Astros picks, but there are a few that are significant enough to be the biggest storylines going on for these teams right now. Starting with the Padres, the hopes that Jackson Merrill wouldn’t be out long may be for not.

Prior to last night’s game, the update was that he is still not close to returning from his hamstring injury. These soft tissue injuries have been shown to linger, and anytime you see “no timeline for Jackson Merrill,” that doesn’t exactly instill confidence. It’s even more brutal when you see that he was batting .375 prior to the injury.

 

 

 

Houston Astros: AJ Blubaugh Making His Case

The storyline in Houston definitely sounds much more positive, but it’s also because of injury concerns. The Astros have several starting pitchers on the injured list, and although they recently activated Forrest Whitley from the IL, he’s far from the big household name Astros fans are waiting for.

That’s why many are eyeing a prospect that could get called up sooner rather than later. That would be AJ Blubaugh. While we know that still has many fans asking “who?” as we’re bringing up a seventh-rounder, he’s currently averaging over 1.5 strikeouts per inning so far in his Triple-A season.

 

 

 

How To Watch Padres vs. Astros Today

We noted that this matchup being in Houston was certainly a benefit for Jose Altuve and company, and you can see more regarding how to watch Padres vs. Astros today:

  • Where: Daikin Park in Houston, Texas
  • When: 7:10 PM ET on 4/20
  • Watch on TV: ESPN
  • Where to stream: ESPN+

 

 

 

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

Given strong starters going to the mound for both teams and the pedigree of the rest of their rosters, we aren’t surprised to see the Padres vs. Astros odds expected a close matchup:

 

 

 

Padres vs. Astros Best Bet: Dylan Cease Under 6.5 Strikeouts (Add Player Projections At Underdog)

Tonight’s game is so interesting to break down for Padres vs. Astros predictions with the opposing trends at play. We know that most fans will be focused on the Dylan Cease vs. Framber Valdez matchup, and rightfully so.

However, while these are two studs known for ringing up hitters early and often, these are also lineups that don't tend to strike out much. Actually, that’s putting it lightly for San Diego specifically, as they’ve done so the fewest times in the entire league so far this season. That’s right on par for them, though - they ended the year last season in that same spot!

Similarly, Houston was just two spots worse in that regard, and are within the best 10 teams for it again so far this year. All that to say that as much as we know fans would prefer not to take an under, sometimes that’s simply the right play. So, we’re going to bite the bullets and take that approach for Padres’ starter Dylan Cease.

While he became a household name in Chicago, he hasn’t been quite as dominant since his departure. Last year with San Diego, he went just 14-11, and so far this year, he has a 6.64 ERA. In his lone start away from home this year, it was his worst from a strikeout perspective (just four against the Athletics) AND his lone loss on the year.

How has he fared against Houston? Well, when he faced them at the very end of last year, he had just five K’s, which is the same number he had against the Astros in his last start with the White Sox. 

We know it's a tough pill to swallow, but we’re taking Dylan Cease under 6.5 strikeouts (use his player projection at Underdog) as the best bet from our Padres vs. Astros predictions.

 

 

 

Padres vs. Astros Injury Report & Starting Pitchers

We should be even more pleased with tonight’s great pitching matchup given the guys on the IL with the Padres vs. Astros injury news. In San Diego, Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove are still out, not to mention daily players Jake Cronenworth and Jackson Merrill.

In Houston, starters Lance McCullers Jr, Luis Garcia, Spencer Arrighetti AND Christian Javier are all on the IL.  

As for today, from the very start of our Padres vs. Astros predictions, we noted that we were going to have a great pitching matchup, and you can see the Padres vs. Astros starters for today here:

 

 

 

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