Nelly
Padres at Giants
Pick: Padres +165
Clayton Richard has far better numbers at home than on the road but consider that both of his road starts this season have come in tough environments, pitching in Colorado and in Cincinnati. While Richard has been better in his home starts he allowed just three runs in both road games and he has not allowed more than three runs in any start this season. Going back to last season that makes ten consecutive outings with three or fewer runs allowed and with 28 strikeouts already this season Richard looks on his way to becoming a very solid pitcher for the Padres even though his record stands at just 1-2 in the early going. San Diego is 17-7 in the last 24 games overall and the Padres are 7-3 in the last ten road games. Matt Cain is having another fine season but the Padres were able to have success against him earlier this season in an eventual win. While Cain has very good numbers, the Giants are just 3-3 behind him this season and just 3-11 in the last 14 meetings against the Padres with Cain on the mound. Cain has walked at least three batters in each of his last two starts and while San Diego does not own a strong batting average the Padres are averaging 4.4 runs per game. San Francisco is 10-6 at home this season but San Diego has won all four meetings between these teams in 2010. Both teams have excellent bullpens but San Diego has been better, featuring a 2.75 ERA for the year. Mark DeRosa will likely be unavailable for this game and the Giants are just 6-6 against left-handed starters this season compared with 12-7 against right-handers. This should be a very even match-up much like game 1 of the series and with exceptional underdog value San Diego is certainly worth a shot tonight.