Padres at Diamondbacks
O/U 9 · RL Diamondbacks -1.5
Diamondbacks ML-115
CONF 63%
LLostFinal 9-4
The read
The roof's shut in Phoenix, it's the second of four between these two, and San Diego rolls in hot after winning most of their last ten — but they're still chasing Arizona in the standings. Arizona won the opener comfortably and now hands the ball to one of the best arms in the league. San Diego counters with a guy who hasn't started in a week and a half. That's the whole game, and the price says it's basically even money.
Randy Vásquez is why I'm on this. His last three outings have been a mess — barely getting through games while giving up a pile of runs — and the stuff underneath looks even uglier: hitters are squaring him up hard, he's stopped missing bats, and he's handing out free passes. Lefties have hammered him all year, and Torey Lovullo has Carroll, Perdomo, Kepler, Marte and Nootbaar stacked at the top tonight. Vásquez hasn't gotten through five innings in most of his recent starts. So this turns into a bullpen game by the middle, and San Diego's relievers just used Peralta and Estrada on back-to-back days with Adam on the long-term shelf. Mason Miller can lock down one inning, not four.
The flip side: Eduardo Rodriguez has worked deep into games in three of his last four and has been excellent at Chase Field. I know the underlying contact numbers say he's caught some breaks, and I know Tatis has gotten him twice — in a small sample. I'm not ignoring it. But Machado has almost never touched him over his career for a reason, and that changeup is still making hitters swing through it plenty. Add in McCann catching and swinging a hot bat, a ballpark that gives you offense, and a home team that's been well above water in this building. At this price I'm getting a discount on the better pitcher, the longer start and the fresher bullpen. Diamondbacks.
The full analysis
Roof closed in Phoenix, second game of four, and the Padres come in having won eight of ten while the standings say they're still looking up at the club across the diamond. Arizona took the opener 5-1 and gets to hand the ball to an All-Star. San Diego answers with a man who hasn't started in ten days. That's the whole game right there, and the board has it priced like a coin flip.
Randy Vásquez is the reason I'm here. His last three trips added up to nine innings and eleven earned runs, and the shape underneath is worse than the ERA — barrels and hard contact pouring off him, a strikeout rate that has essentially vanished, walks climbing. Left-handed bats have hit .318 with an .895 OPS against him, and Torey Lovullo runs Carroll, Perdomo, Kepler, Marte and Nootbaar through the top six tonight. Vásquez hasn't finished the fifth in four of his last six. So this becomes a bullpen game by the middle innings, and San Diego's pen just worked Peralta and Estrada on back-to-back days with Adam gone to the sixty-day. Mason Miller is a weapon for one inning, not four.
The other side of it: Eduardo Rodriguez has pitched into the seventh or eighth in three of his last four and owns a 2.47 mark at Chase. I know his contact numbers say he's been living a little charmed, and I know Tatis has taken him deep twice in a tiny sample. I'm not blind to it — Machado is 8-for-42 lifetime against him for a reason, and the changeup is still generating a whiff on better than a quarter of the swings. Add McCann catching and swinging like he can't miss, a park that plays up, and a home club that's 32-22 in this building. At -115 I'm getting a discount on the better arm, the deeper start, and the fresher pen. Diamondbacks.
Props on this game
3Randy VasquezOVER 1.5 Pitcher Earned Runs Pitcher Earned Runs-165
LActual 0
Three starts back for Vásquez and the damage is ugly — nine innings, eleven earned runs, and he hasn't made it through the fifth in four of his last six trips to the mound. Left-handed bats have hit .318 with an .895 OPS against him this year, and Arizona sends out Carroll, Perdomo, Kepler and Marte in the top four, all lefty or switch bats standing on the left side against him tonight.
This is a lineup built to expose exactly the hole he has. Arizona's coming off a 5-1 win in the opener and has scored six runs a game over the last two weeks.
One and a half earned runs is a number he's blown through in five of his last eight starts, and nothing about this matchup says he holds the line tonight.
Eduardo RodriguezOVER 17.5 Pitcher Outs Pitcher Outs-154
LActual 17
Rodriguez has been a horse at Chase Field all year — 2.47 ERA in eleven starts here — and he's gone at least six innings in five of his last six turns, including eight in his last time out against Pittsburgh. His whiff rate has climbed in each of his last four starts, up to 24 percent his last time out, which tells me he's missing more bats now than he was a month ago, not fewer. San Diego just burned Peralta and Estrada on back-to-back nights and Jason Adam is gone for the year to the sixty-day, so there's real incentive for this staff to let their best arm work deep tonight rather than hand it to a taxed pen. Seventeen and a half outs is basically his floor at home right now.
Fernando Tatis Jr.OVER 0.5 Home Runs Home Runs+525
LActual 0
Tatis has gone deep twice against Rodriguez in his career, albeit in a small sample, and he's shown real pop lately, going deep in three of his last fifteen games. Rodriguez has actually been more homer-prone against right-handed bats this season — ten home runs allowed in 339 at-bats against righties compared to three in 146 against lefties — and Tatis swings from the right side. This is a power bet at power-bet odds, but the specific history against this pitcher and the specific split both point the same direction, and plus five-twenty-five pays enough to make it worth the swing.
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