Cubs vs. Padres MLB Odds, Preview and Pick (Archive)
The Chicago Cubs will be traveling out west for the next week, and we’re taking a look at the MLB odds for the first game of their series in San Diego against the Padres.
Chicago Cubs vs. San Diego Padres
Monday, May 09, 2022 – 9:40 PM EDT at Petco Park
Seeing the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres on the baseball betting schedule always rekindles memories of their exciting matchup in the 1984 NLCS. It has become obvious early on this year that won’t be repeated in October when the Cubs are sitting at home and likely watching the Padres in the playoffs.
There isn’t any reason to believe Chicago will play on in the postseason judging by the current standings; the Cubs are languishing in the NL Central where they are only saved from the cellar by the pathetic Cincinnati Reds who own baseball’s worst record.
San Diego, meanwhile, is doing a great job keeping pace with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Padres sitting in second place of the NL West where all five teams in the division are playing better than .500 baseball.
Cubs Tow Five-Game Skid Out West to Begin Trip
Chicago’s road trip is getting off to a rather inauspicious start after being swept at home by the Dodgers over the weekend. Rainouts and injuries forced Cubs manager David Ross to tweak his rotation in the games against Los Angeles, and that spilled over to Monday with numbers still to be released at betting sites.
Monday’s mound duel in San Diego finds rookie MacKenzie Gore (2-0, 1.71) on tap for the home team while veteran Kyle Hendricks (1-3, 5.64) gets the nod for the Cubs. At least that’s what the teams’ MLB websites are reporting.
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Even though he is technically being pushed up a day, Hendricks will be working on his normal 4-day rest between starts. He pitched last Wednesday in the Windy City Series against the White Sox and took the loss (5.2 IP, 4 ER, 2 HR) in a 4-3 final as a +129 underdog at Heritage Sports (visit our Heritage Sports Review)
Hendricks has done well against the Padres during his career, going 7-2 in 11 starts with a 3.00 ERA (69 IP). He grew up about 60 miles north of Petco Park and has done very well pitching in on the San Diego bump with a 4-1 mark and 2.93 ERA in five assignments, including one of four career shutouts.
Friars’ Bats Quiet to Begin Homestand
San Diego opened its current homestand by taking three of four from the Miami Marlins. Despite the wins, Padres skipper Bob Melvin is still concerned about his lineup that managed to score just eight times in the series, with three of those runs coming in one final swing in Sunday’s triumph.
Something has to give soon as far as San Diego’s rotation and the impending return of Blake Snell (groin) could mean that Gore will be ticketed for the minors despite filling in so admirably for the Padres who have split his four assignments while the former first-round pick surrendered just one home run and struck out 22 during his 21 innings of work.
Gore certainly pitched well enough to get San Diego into the winner’s circle his last time out, working into the sixth and allowing just one run in Cleveland, only to have Padres relievers cough up the lead as the Guardians eventually rallied for a 6-5 win in extra innings as +125 underdogs on baseball betting boards.
‘Under’ Cashes Six of Last Eight Meetings
Had Chicago played San Diego more often last season, the Cubs might have made the playoffs. Okay, that may be a bit of a stretch, but the Cubs did win five of the six matchups in 2021, four of those triumphs coming as underdogs at online betting sites.
With those victories, Chicago now has a 276-227 lead in the rivalry with San Diego, that record including the Padres’ 3-2 advantage in the 1984 NLCS, the only time the two clubs have met in the postseason.
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Two of the three contests at Petco Park a season ago stopped short of the totals, leaving results 5-7 O/U in San Diego since the start of the 2018 campaign.
Clear skies, temps in the low-60s, and a 10-12 mph NW breeze (in from left) is the weatherman’s prediction for Cubs vs. Padres matchup. Hendricks’ history at Petco makes for an intriguing play.
I’m not sure the underdog moneyline for my MLB picks will be high enough to sway me. So, let’s first predict a 7½-run total and then play that number to the low side.
MLB Pick: Under 7½ (-110) with BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.