A back-and-forth series between the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres is coming to a close, with Game 3 on Sunday, July 7th, at 4:10 PM ET at Petco Park in San Diego, California. The Padres are slight favorites to win, with a moneyline currently at -155.
The Diamondbacks are seeking to build consistency in this series finale. Before this, they had gone 2-1 in their three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, one of the best teams in the league.
They will put Ryne Nelson (5-6) on the mound to kick this off. He currently averages 5.42 with his ERA and 1.56 with his WHIP. Their team ERA is nearing 4.71, so he will need to put them in a great spot if they want to succeed.
Christian Walker and Ketel Marte lead the Diamondbacks offensively in a few spots. Walker has home runs and RBIs, while Marte stands out with his batting average. Both will be key to their likelihood of winning.
The D-Backs typically allow their opponents to do well offensively and then try to outperform them at the plate. However, this strategy could be better if they want to win.
The Padres had good momentum coming into the game since winning two out of three against the Texas Rangers. Can they still bring forth the same intensity in the finale?
They will have a slight advantage on the mound with Dylan Cease (7-7). He is averaging an ERA of 4.24 and a WHIP of 1.12. With their team ERA floating around 4.09, they have some work to do to reduce their pitching negatives.
The Padres are slightly ahead of the Diamondbacks in terms of their offense. Jurickson Profar does a great job leading their offense, which they will likely need to have to combat the D-Backs.
If they can keep their offense above .260 at the plate and their opponents below .240, they might have something going for them. For now, they have to worry about keeping the Diamondbacks from getting hot early.
The latest MLB betting odds are brought to you by MyBookie, who has the San Diego Padres favored to win. Comparing this to market analysis, the Padres have a 65.1 percent chance of success.
This has been a volatile series all season between these teams, as only a few battles out of the nine so far have been decided by a few runs or less. The rest have been lopsided blowouts for whoever came out strong offensively in that game. The Padres have slightly performed better overall and should have an edge in this one.
