Albert
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1d
My Prediction
Arizona Diamondbacks by 2If you’re a fan of pitcher’s duels or a betting man fond of long shots, this matchup between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the San Diego Padres might tickle your fancy. The Diamondbacks' starting pitcher, Eduardo Rodriguez, is packing a season ERA of 6.26 and a strikeout rate of 10.7 per nine innings. Can't say he's my first choice for a fantasy league, but he might just throw a curveball at us tonight.
On the other hand, we have the Padre's Randy Vasquez, who sports a 3.92 ERA with a far less intimidating strikeout rate of 5.1 per nine innings. Remember, we’ll be in Petco Park, which, not to brag about my statistical acumen, is more like a vacation spot for pitchers than batters.
As for the players who make up the stats using their bats, the Diamondbacks are led by Eugenio Suarez, who is hitting .294 with 28 RBIs and 12 home runs. Not bad, Eugenio, not bad. But let's not forget about Josh Naylor and Ketel Marte contributing their fair chunks too.
Flipping the coin over, the Padres are leaning on their top boys Luis Arraez and Xander Bogaerts. Both hovering around .300, they've been holding the team up like Atlas. But, alas, the weight of the stars hasn't been enough, as one can tell from their recent games.
In their last five get-togethers, the Diamondbacks have bested the Padres thrice, including the most recent romp. Keep the past in mind, folks, it often rhymes. Looking at the season records, it's a close call. Diamondbacks trail behind the Padres with 45-47 against 49-42 for the latter. Not the kind of records that will be remembered for generations, but hey, this isn't the Hall of Fame.
So, after crunching the numbers, it's clear that past performance and the benefit of an upward trend favor the Diamondbacks for this matchup, even though the game is being played in Padres territory, a noted pitcher’s park. You’re not going to get this kind of in-depth analysis just anywhere, folks!
Albert’s Prediction: Arizona Diamondbacks by 2