Phillies vs. Padres Game 1 Betting: Will San Diego strike the first blow in unexpected NLCS matchup?

On the way to a third straight National League Championship Series matchup between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves, the San Diego Padres and Philadelphia Phillies decided that they would spoil things.

Tonight, the bottom two seeds in the NL playoff bracket will face off in Game 1 of the NLCS.

The Phillies, who downed the 101-win Braves in four games, are in the NLCS for the first time since 2010 and are seeking their first World Series trip since 2009.

The Padres, who have upset the 101-win Mets and 111-win Dodgers, are in the NLCS for the first time since 1998 and seeking their first World Series trip since that season.

Getting off to a good start has been valuable thus far in this year’s MLB playoffs, so each team will be eager to get out in front in this series. Are we in for a low-scoring pitchers’ duel between Zack Wheeler and Yu Darvish in tonight’s opener?

Philadelphia Phillies vs. San Diego Padres Matchup Information and Betting Odds – NLCS Game 1

Matchup Information

• Matchup: #6 Philadelphia Phillies (0-0) vs. #5 San Diego Padres (0-0)
• Venue & Location: Petco Park (San Diego, California)
• Date: Tuesday, October 18, 2022
• Game Time: 8:03 p.m. Eastern Time (5:03 p.m. local time)
• How to Watch Phillies vs. Padres Game 1: FS1

Phillies vs. Padres Pitching Matchup for Game 1

• Philadelphia: RHP Zack Wheeler
• San Diego: RHP Yu Darvish

Phillies vs. Padres Odds

Game odds are via BetOnline. Odds from our other recommended legal sports betting sites may also appear in this article.

Moneyline

• Philadelphia Phillies +100
• San Diego Padres -118

Over/Under

• Over 7 (+100)
• Under 7 (-122)

Run Line

• Philadelphia Phillies -1.5 (+176)
• San Diego Padres +1.5 (-215)

Philadelphia Phillies vs. San Diego Padres Prediction and Betting Picks for Game 1

Phillies vs. Padres Game 1 Prediction: Padres to win

Phillies vs. Padres Game 1 Picks: Padres ML (Best Value: -118 at BetOnline) & Phillies team total under (Best Value: under 3.5 @ -139 at BetUS)

With the way that both Darvish and Wheeler have been pitching, I don’t expect to see too many runs in tonight’s opener in San Diego.

In the regular season, Wheeler’s numbers on the road (6-4, 3.84 ERA in 13 starts) were far worse than his numbers at home (6-3, 1.85 ERA in 13 starts).

But in his last four road starts, he has given up four runs in 23.1 innings. Three of those runs came in the sixth inning of Game 2 in Atlanta, after he had opened with five shutout innings.

Darvish, who was the NL Pitcher of the Month in September, had 25 quality starts in 30 starts this season, and last week’s (winning) start in Game 2 in Los Angeles, in which he allowed three runs in five innings, snapped a run of nine straight quality starts.

This will be Darvish’s first home start in this postseason, but in the regular season, he was 7-3 with a 2.60 ERA with 13 quality starts in 13 starts at home.

The Phillies won Game 1 on the road against both the Cardinals and Braves, which helped tip those series in their favor. St. Louis and Atlanta had two of the league’s best home records in the regular season, so those results aren’t to be dismissed.

There’s not really a lot separating these teams, and I think this series could go six or seven games. So, I wouldn’t recommend a big side play for the opener.

That said, I do favor the home team to ride a raucous atmosphere on a rare occasion–the Padres have been to the playoffs just seven times in 54 seasons, and this is just their third NLCS appearance–to a series-opening win.

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