The San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves will wrap up their three-game series on Saturday. First pitch from Truist Park is at 7:20 p.m. ET. The Braves are -160 moneyline favorites and the game total is set at nine runs.
San Diego (3-4 SU and 3-4 RL) has lost consecutive games after winning its previous three. The Padres will start Michael Wacha (1-0 with a 6.00 ERA) on Saturday.
Atlanta (6-1 SU and 5-2 RL) has won four straight since losing its season-opening series finale to Washington. The Braves will counter with Charlie Morton (1-0 with a 5.06 ERA).
San Diego shed its “little brother” label with its NLDS victory over LA, building hype for a breakout 2023 season. The Padres blossomed in the 2022 playoffs, but it's time to prove the hype is warranted. Following a flurry of offseason acquisitions, including the signing of All-Star shortstop Xander Bogaerts, San Diego is all-in.
JUAN SOTO ??#BringTheGold pic.twitter.com/hmIIXCbCxG
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) April 7, 2023
The Padres battled back versus Atlanta on Thursday, but their bullpen couldn't get the job done in relief of Blake Snell. The Braves walked it off with a ninth-inning single off the bat of Orlando Arcia, taking game one of the series. San Diego trailed early, and after scoring three runs in the top of the fourth, let Atlanta take the lead again in the bottom of the inning. SD tied it up in the sixth and grabbed control of the lead in the top of the eighth but gave up three runs over the last two innings.
San Diego scores 4.43 runs per contest (18th) with a .231 batting average (21st) and a .754 OPS (14th). The Pads have 11 homers (7th) and one stolen base (26th) this season. The SD pitching staff has a 5.03 ERA (20th) and 1.44 WHIP (20th), with one quality start.
We've now entered the Crone Zone ??#BringTheGold pic.twitter .com/X8bpPpiw7a
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) April 7, 2023
The Padres have one of the most exciting lineups in the game. It's hard to find a hole in the San Diego lineup, and it will be even more challenging when Fernando Tatís Jr. returns. With Bogaerts, Tatis, Manny Machado, Juan Soto, and Jake Cronenworth making up the heart of the lineup, opposing pitchers simply can't make mistakes.
San Diego will turn to the veteran Wacha on Saturday at Truist Park. The 31-year-old is in his first season with the Padres after going 11-2 with a 3.32 ERA and 1.50 WHIP in 23 starts for Boston last year. He's an additional back-of-the-rotation insurance arm who will be valuable over the long MLB season. Wacha is 0-4 with a 5.23 ERA in eight career appearances (six starts) versus Atlanta, though he has not faced the Braves since 2021.