We didn't have to wait long to get the biggest revenge game in quite some time. After turning down 440 million dollars from the Nationals, Juan Soto was traded to the Padres just 10 days ago. He headed out west alongside 1st baseman Josh Bell and joined up with former-red Brandon Drury. In combination with Manny Machado and eventually Fernando Tatis Jr, they look to be a team that can make a deep playoff run. Meanwhile, the Nationals have lost 11 of their last 14 games and have the worst record in baseball. Despite heading in opposite directions, we can still make this series opener profitable. Along with this same game parlay, be sure to check out our thoughts on the side and total for all of today's games.
Padres -1.5 (-135)
Over 8.5 total runs (-145)
Juan Soto 2+ total bases (+105)
Parlay odds: +340
Let's take a closer look at each leg of our same game parlay.
San Diego Padres -1.5 (-135) over Washington Nationals
The Padres were already the superior team in this matchup, and the Nationals themselves helped increase the gap between them. When Soto and Bell left the nation's capital for Southern California, San Diego became the 5th-betting favorite to win the World Series. That's also in part due to acquiring an incredible closer from the Brewers, Josh Hader. However, their 1st full series as this new-look team did not go well. They had to take on the league's best team in the Dodgers. After bouncing back and scoring 20 runs on the Giants over the last 2 games, the Nats, the league's worst team, don’t look to fare much better.
Starter Mike Clevinger had been on a nice run before meeting up with the Dodgers in that aforementioned series. Prior to that start, he had allowed 2 or fewer runs in 3 straight outings, while pitching at least 6.0 innings in each one. That's quite the opposite experience as Nationals starter Cory Abbott. He just got his 1st start the same day of the Soto trade, and was just smashed for 7 runs in 3.2 innings in his most recent start. The Padres are already superior at the plate and with their starting rotation, and the addition of Hader adds another element. While San Diego enhanced their ability to close out games, the Nats have the league's 7th-worst bullpen. With the Padres having the advantage in just about every aspect, they should help Soto get his revenge in a dominant fashion.'''