The San Diego Padres (22-24) take on the Atlanta Braves (26-14) Friday in the opener of a 4-game set at Truist Park at 7:20 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Padres vs. Braves odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: First meeting; Padres won 4-3 last year
The Padres were swept at home by the Colorado Rockies earlier this week and have dropped 6 of 10. They were shut out 8-0 Wednesday by a team with the worst ERA (5.03) in baseball. Padres 3B Manny Machado continues to struggle, hitting .222 with 5 homers, and SS Xander Bogaerts is hitting just .213.
The Braves are coming off a 7-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs Wednesday. They are still 6-2 over their last 8 games. They tossed shutouts in half of those wins. Speaking of shutouts, LHP Max Fried takes the hill Friday, and he didn’t allow an ER in 3 of his last 4 starts, which spanned 22 IP.