The San Francisco Giants (0-0) open the season against the San Diego Padres (1-1) on Thursday. The NL West rivals meet at Petco Park with 1st pitch scheduled for a 4:10 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Giants vs. Padres odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: First meeting; Padres won last year’s series 8-5
By many accounts, San Diego underplayed its talent level in going 82-80 a year ago. The Padres, now several pieces lighter after shedding salary, placed 3rd in the NL West, 3 games ahead of San Francisco.
The Giants went 79-83 last season. They were quite good May-June, going 35-20 with a run differential to match. But San Francisco faded down the stretch, especially late. They went just 9-19 after Sept. 1.