Padres vs. Nationals (August 14): Will San Diego snag rubber game in D.C.?

On the way to a second straight win for the San Diego Padres over the Washington Nationals, a funny thing happened last night.

After being held scoreless for the first five innings, the Nationals scored three runs in the sixth to tie the game and a single run in the seventh to take the lead. From there, they held on to close out just their second win in their last ten games.

Series wins have been hard to come by for Washington, but here they are with a chance to pick up just their second series win since the start of July.

But San Diego is heavily favored in today's midday matchup, and anything less than a win and a series win for the Padres will be a real surprise.

San Diego Padres vs. Washington Nationals Matchup Information and Betting Odds

Matchup Information

• Matchup: San Diego Padres (64-52, 31-28 away, 2nd in the NL West) vs. Washington Nationals (38-77, 18-41 home, 5th in the NL East)
• Venue & Location: Nationals Park (Washington, D.C.)
• Date: Sunday, August 14, 2022
• Game Time: 12:05 p.m. Eastern Time
• Padres vs. Nationals TV Info: Peacock

Padres vs. Nationals Pitching Matchup

• San Diego Padres: Blake Snell (2022: 14 starts, 4-6, 3.96 ERA)
• Washington Nationals: Paolo Espino (2022: 31 appearances – 11 starts, 0-4, 4.04 ERA)

Padres vs. Nationals Odds

Game odds are via BetOnline. Odds from some other top legal online sports betting sites may also be featured in this article.

Moneyline

• San Diego Padres -290
• Washington Nationals +235

Over/Under

• Over 9 (-108)
• Under 9 (-112)

Run Line

• San Diego Padres -1.5 (-166)
• Washington Nationals +1.5 (+138)

Can the Nats Solve Snell to Upset the Odds?

The results may not be lining up for him every time out, but Blake Snell is having his best stretch of the season.

Across his first seven starts this season, Snell allowed at least two runs in each start. But in his last seven starts, he has allowed two or more runs only once.

Season Splits for Blake Snell

• First Seven Starts: 0-5, 5.60 ERA, 35.1 IP, 32 H, 24 R (22 ER), 19 BB, 38 K
• Last Seven Starts: 4-1, 2.41 ERA, 37.1 IP, 29 H, 10 R (10 ER), 17 BB, 57 K

For the Padres, that is a highly encouraging sign with regards to the home stretch and MLB playoffs.

So is run support becoming a less frequent issue.

In his first eight starts, none of which San Diego won, he got more than three runs of support only once.

But in his last six starts, the Padres are 4-2 and have scored more than three runs four times. Things didn't go favorably last time out, however, as San Diego was shut out at San Francisco on Monday in a game in which Snell allowed one run, six hits, and two walks and struck out eight in 5.2 innings.

San Diego Padres vs. Washington Nationals Prediction and Picks

Padres vs. Nationals Prediction: Padres to win

Padres vs. Nationals Picks: Padres -2.5 (Best Value: -105 at BetUS & BetMGM) and team total over 5.5 runs (Best Value: -110 at BetOnline)

It's safe to say that things fizzled out offensively for the Padres after a bright start last night. In the first four innings, they scored three runs and tallied six hits. But in the final five innings, they were held scoreless and managed only two hits.

Fortunately, today should be a better day from start to finish. Look for Snell to continue his recent surge and for the bats to have a productive afternoon against Espino, who had a solid start last time out against the Cubs but has yet to put consecutive stingy starts together.

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