Mets vs. Padres prediction: Picks, odds, favorite to win series in Wild Card round of 2022 MLB playoffs

The New York Mets spent most of the season rightfully thinking that they would earn a first-round bye in the MLB playoffs as the NL East champion. But after the scorching Braves caught and passed the Mets during the regular season's final weekend, New York will now have to play in the Wild Card Round, with its best-of-three series at Citi Field against the San Diego Padres beginning on Friday at 8:07 p.m. ET. Which team will move on to meet the Dodgers in the NLDS? Here's our pick.

Mets vs. Padres odds

NYM: -175
SDP: +145

The Mets are the biggest Wild Card Series favorite heading into Friday's postseason opener. That's kind of understandable now that Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom are both healthy together. But this is not a perfect team by any means. Although New York has a few potent bats in its lineup – highlighted by the NL's leading run producer Pete Alonso and the NL batting champion Jeff McNeil – its offense is prone to prolonged stretches of low productivity. Case in point, the seven runs they scored during the last weekend's three-game set in Atlanta. Fortunately for the Mets, the Padres have similar issues, and theirs are more pronounced. Outside of Juan Soto NL MVP candidate Manny Machado, the Padres don't really have another dependable bat in their everyday lineup. What they do have, however, are three starting pitchers – Yu Darvish, Blake Snell and Joe Musgrove – who can dominate on any given night.

This has all the makings of a low-scoring series, and while the Mets' moneyline odds are probably too short right now, deGrom and Scherzer in Citi Field may prove to be too much for the Padres to handle.

Pick: NYM -175

  
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