San Diego Padres vs Washington Nationals Prediction: Padres to run riot again

On Sunday, MLB action will take place at Petco Park, featuring a matchup between the Washington Nationals and the San Diego Padres.

The San Diego Padres have scored at least four runs in eight of their previous 12 games, including a total of 25 runs in their most recent three games. When scoring four or more runs in a game, the Padres have won 10 of their previous 13 games overall. Juan Soto has a team-high 71 hits and is second on the Padres in runs batted in with 40. Xander Bogaerts and Fernando Tatis Jr. have combined for 135 hits and 62 runs batted in. When Matt Waldron hits the mound in this game, it will be the first time he has pitched in the major leagues. During his time in the lower leagues, Waldron has a record of 13-24 with a 5.32 earned run average and 331 strikeouts. The San Diego Padres have a record of 5-1 in their last six games played during game 2 of a series, and they have a record of 5-2 in their last seven games played at home. The total has been under in 19 of the past 27 home games for the San Diego Padres.

The Washington Nationals have scored three runs or fewer in each of their last four games, and they have scored nine runs total over the course of their last three games. The Nationals have been unsuccessful in winning any of their past 11 games while scoring three runs or fewer. While Lane Thomas leads the Nationals in hits and runs batted in with 84 and 37, respectively, Joey Meneses and Luis Garcia have combined for 156 hits and 69 runs batted in between them. Josiah Gray is scheduled to pitch, and he has a record of 4-6 with a 3.64 earned run average and 72 strikeouts so far this season. The Washington Nationals have a record of 19-45 over their previous 64 games played on Sunday and a record of 0-7 over their last 7 games played during game 2 of a series heading into this contest.

Matt Waldron is at least at home, which should ease the nerves, and he's a knuckleballer, which isn't something you see very often, so that's a plus. In general, I don't like it when starting pitchers make their debut in the major leagues, but in this case, I'm making an exception. The Washington Nationals already have a problem scoring runs, and now they have to contend with a contract pitch that is uncomfortable and difficult to make. If you want to maximize your betting value, give me the Padres and the over.