By Stephen Nover
Phillies minus $1.01 hosting Padres
Who is the best everyday player on the San Diego Padres? Hint: It’s not Manny Machado.
In my view it’s clearly rookie shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr., who in 84 games is leading the Padres in batting with a .317 average, has smacked 22 homers, driven in 53 runs, scored 61 runs and stolen 16 bases.
The dynamic rookie, though, injured his back against the Rays this past Tuesday and isn’t expected to play.
That’s a big blow for the Padres. It’s one of several reasons why I’m perplexed seeing this opening line. The Phillies should be strong home favorites against the Padres here. But they are not. So I’m getting involved backing Philadelphia
The pitching matchup is Chris Paddack versus Vince Velasquez. Paddack has a 3.95 road ERA compared to a 2.53 home ERA. San Diego is 2-6 in his last eight road starts. Velasquez has been pitching better. He’s allowed seven earned runs in his past four starts with 21 strikeouts in 22 2/3 innings during this span.
The Phillies are the superior offensive team. They are averaging seven runs in their last four games and they have also bolstered their bullpen.
The Padres have dropped nine of their past 13 away contests. San Diego has a weak history, too, when playing in Philadelphia losing 13 of the last 18 times.
(Editor’s note: Stephen Nover is 15-7 on his August premium/free baseball plays with seven underdog winners. Stephen finished as the No. 1 NFL AND college football handicapper at Vegas Insider last year and is plus units in every sport. If you are interested in his sports service, please email him at scriber26@gmail.com, or message him via Twitter.)
