Minnesota Twins vs San Diego Padres Prediction, Preview and Odds - 08/22/2026

Game Time: 8:40 pm ET, Saturday, August 22, 2026

Venue:  Petco Park, San Diego, CA

Where to Watch:  MLB TV

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Twins +139, Padres -169; Over/Under:  8 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Twins +140, Padres -170; Over/Under:  8 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Twins +140, Padres -170; Over/Under:  8 runs

Minnesota Twins:  63-65 (2nd place, AL Central)

San Diego Padres:  68-60 (2nd place, NL West)

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Minnesota Twins:  5-5 last 10

San Diego Padres:  7-3 last 10

The Twins are entering this series off a win and completed the sweep in their 3-game series against the Atlanta Braves 3-0 in their last series. They enter this game with a 63-65 record overall and have a road record of 28-34. This is the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Padres on Saturday with the series opener still to be played on Friday. Their offense ranks 10th in the MLB with a .727 OPS. Rookie pitcher Connor Prielipp is their starting pitcher on Friday while Dean Kremer is making his start in this game on Saturday. He is 2-4 with a 5.40 ERA this season. His team lost 4 of their last 5 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season appearance, he allowed 4 ER, 1 HR, and 2 BB with 6 SO on 5 hits through 5.1 IP against the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Padres are entering this series off a loss and lost their 3-game series against the New York Mets 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 68-60 record overall and have a home record of 37-26. This is the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Twins on Saturday with the 1st game of this series still to be played on Friday. Their offense ranks 23rd in the MLB with a .704 OPS. Randy Vásquez is their starting pitcher on Friday while Casey Mize is making his start in this game on Saturday. He is 5-7 with a 3.18 ERA this season. His team won their last 2 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 0 earned runs, 0 homers, and 1 walk with 3 strikeouts on 3 hits through 6 innings pitched against the Cleveland Guardians.

The current betting odds have the Padres listed as a favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Padres have looked good in their games this season with their 68-60 record overall which has them right near the top of the NL West. They have looked good in their own ballpark too with their 37-26 home record this season. Meanwhile, the Twins haven't looked great in their games this season with their 63-65 record overall which has them right in the middle of the AL Central. They haven't been a good road team either with their 28-34 road record this year. The Twins are coming off a series sweep of the Braves, but they are 5-5 in their last 10 games and still haven't looked great lately. They have been fighting for the last Wild Card spot in the AL and are right there in the race, but the Padres are also fighting for a Wild Card spot and they have been rolling since the trade deadline, now 7-3 in their last 10 games. The Twins do have the better offense here, but the Padres have been putting up more runs lately and they also have the better pitching matchup here along with the stronger bullpen. The Twins are going with Kremer in this one and he hasn't looked great this season. He is 2-4 with a 5.40 ERA and he has been giving up quite a few runs all year. He is coming off another bad start giving up 4 earned runs which has been a common theme for him and his team hasn't had much success with him lately either, losing 4 of their last 5 games with him starting. The Padres are going with Mize in this one and he has looked great this season. He is 5-7 with a 3.18 ERA and he hasn't been giving up many runs. He did have some trouble in his first start with the Padres after getting traded from the Tigers, but he bounced back from that. He is coming off a great start giving up no runs which has been a common theme for him this season and his team has won 2 games in a row now with him starting too. Look for the Padres to take advantage of this pitching matchup and continue rolling at home against a Twins team that has been really up and down. The best way to place a bet here is on the Padres to win this game. 

Twins Padres Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Saturday, August 22, 2026 (8:40 pm ET start time) is Padres 3 Twins 0.

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Minnesota Twins: 215-237 (-44.4 units) on the moneyline in all games. 99-125 (-20.4 units) on the moneyline in road games. 55-82 (-39.4 units) on the moneyline in an inter-league game. 23-16 OVER against NL West opponents.

San Diego Padres: 25-16 (+5.5 units) on the moneyline against AL Central opponents. 257-206 (+29.2 units) on the moneyline in all games. 137-92 (+16.8 units) on the moneyline in home games. 30-24 OVER vs. a starting pitcher who gives up 1 or more HR's/start.

Minnesota Twins:  A. Martin (RF) Ten Day IL - Hamstring. J. Ryan (SP) Fifteen Day IL - Glute. M. Paredes (SP) Sixty Day IL - Oblique. C. Sands (RP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. A. Banda (RP) Sixty Day IL - Lat. M. Abel (SP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. D. Festa (SP) Sixty Day IL - Shoulder. P. Lopez (SP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow.

San Diego Padres:  M. Andujar (DH) Ten Day IL - Wrist. S. Taylor (LF) Ten Day IL - Oblique. J. Adam (RP) Sixty Day IL - Shoulder. L. Giolito (SP) Fifteen Day IL - Elbow. R. Laureano (LF) Sixty Day IL - Hip. N. Pivetta (SP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. B. Hoeing (RP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow. J. Musgrove (SP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow.

“He continues to get better. I made the mound visit in the eighth and I asked him, ‘Have you ever had four hits in a Major League game?’ He said he’s had four hits but not at the Major League level. I said, ‘Well, I dare you to do it.’ We're seeing he's free and easy. Last night he had five or six assists. Defensively getting better offensively, and this kid can hit. We knew that when we drafted him.” - Derek Shelton after his team’s win against the Braves in their game on Wednesday. 

“Leading up to that, the bullpen was getting used quite a bit. Now they’ve been given a little bit of a breather. We love how the starting staff is going right now.” - Craig Stammen after his team’s loss against the Mets in their game on Wednesday.

Luke Keaschall (R) RF

Byron Buxton (R) CF

Josh Bell (S) DH

Kody Clemens (L) 2B

Royce Lewis (R) 1B

Trevor Larnach (L) LF

Brooks Lee (S) 3B

Victor Caratini (S) C

Kaelen Culpepper (R) SS

Fernando Tatis Jr. (R) RF

Jake Cronenworth (L) 2B

Manny Machado (R) DH

Ty France (R) 1B

Jackson Merrill (L) CF

Luis Rengifo (S) LF

Luis Campusano (R) C

Xander Bogaerts (R) SS

Sung-Mun Song (L) 3B

Batting Average:  Gabriel Gonzalez (.500)

Hits:  Josh Bell (117)

Home Runs:  Byron Buxton (25)

RBI:  Josh Bell (77)

Stolen Bases:  Luke Keaschall (14)

Wins:  Taj Bradley (9)

Saves:  Yoendrys Gómez (19)

ERA:  Jack Anderson (0.00)

Batting Average:  Gage Workman (.333)

Hits:  Fernando Tatis (137)

Home Runs:  Manny Machado (24)

RBI:  Manny Machado (71)

Stolen Bases:  Fernando Tatis (28)

Wins:  Adrian Morejon (9)

Saves:  Mason Miller (31)

ERA:  Mason Miller (0.86)

Managers:

Minnesota Twins: Derek Shelton (1st season)

San Diego Padres: Craig Stammen (1st season)