Published Mar 31, 7:16pm ET by
Paul Lebowitz - Betting Preview Analyst and Sports Writer
Last updated Mar 31, 7:16pm ET
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Updated Mar 31, 7:16pm ET
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| San Diego Padres | -145 |
| San Francisco Giants | +131 |
Righty Adrian Houser resurrected his flagging career in 2025 with the White Sox, posting a 6-2 record, a 2.9 bWAR, and a 2.10 ERA for one of the worst teams in baseball. He was traded to the Rays and was mediocre with a 4.79 ERA in 10 starts.
Still, the Giants saw enough that they gave Houser a 2-year, $22 million contract. This is his first start for San Francisco.
The Giants have not been hitting in the early season. Just about the entire starting lineup is struggling, particularly Patrick Bailey, Willy Adames, and Matt Chapman. They are a veteran team, so this will not last forever.
Against Padres starter Nick Pivetta, Adames is batting .313 with a 1.171 OPS and a homer. Luis Arraez is batting .444. Matt Chapman is 6 for 31 with a homer. Jung Hoo Lee is batting 500 in 12 at-bats with a double, a triple, and a homer.
After a respectable career before getting to San Diego, Nick Pivetta's career took a major leap in 2025. He finished 6th in the NL Cy Young Award voting, had a 5.2 bWAR, won 13, lost 5, had a 2.87 ERA, allowed 129 hits in 181.2 innings, striking out 190, and walking 50.
His first start this season was atrocious against the Tigers. He allowed 6 earned runs and 7 hits in 3 innings, walking 3, and striking out 4.
Ownership disputes and the financial spigot shutting with the unfortunate death of Peter Seidler have resulted in the Padres patching together their roster. They have not hit much this season. Outfielder Ramon Laureano has gotten off to a sizzling start with an OPS above 1.000. But the rest of the roster is not hitting. That includes Manny Machado, Jackson Merrill, and Fernando Tatis, Jr.
For the Padres against Houser, Nick Castellanos is 8 for 28 with an .800 OPS and a home run. Machado is 1 for 13. Tatis is 1 for 7.
Pivetta will almost certainly get his act together and pitch well as the season gets going. Houser is more of a question mark with an up-and-down career.
The Padres' lineup is surprisingly weak despite its lingering star power. They made precious few moves this past winter because they didn't have the money available. The Giants are eventually going to hit. They have too many good bats not to.
The Padres will take this game behind Pivetta despite both teams continuing to struggle at the plate.
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San Diego Padres -145
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