San Diego Padres vs. San Francisco Giants Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 5/21/2022

Time: 4:05 p.m. ET

Venue: Oracle Park, San Francisco, CA

Where to watch: Bally Sports San Diego, NBC Sports Bay Area

DraftKings: Giants -145, Padres +125

BetMGM: Giants -150, Padres +125

Caesars: NL

Padres: 25-14

Giants: 22-16

The San Diego Padres keep on winning. It really shouldn't be a surprise that they are, but remember that they're doing all this without Fernando Tatis Jr. The Padres are now 11 games over .500 after an 8-7, 10-inning win over the San Francisco Giants in the first game in this three-game set.

Manny Machado, continuing his MVP tear, drove in the go-ahead run, and Jurickson Profar added the insurance run soon after to give the Padres an important victory. Machado went 3-for-5 with an RBI to push his batting average to an astounding .363, and Profar went 3-for-5 as well to push his average over .200.

"Any offense that's winning ballgames is doing well," Padres outfielder Wil Myers said. "Obviously, there's some things that we can improve on. We're hitting well. That's all that matters."

I completely understand the large discrepancy in the batting averages, and especially Eric Hosmer clipping over .320 but you get the picture. It was also great to see manager Bob Melvin back after missing six games for Prostate treatment.

"To come back and put two up right away just shows you what this club's been about all year," Melvin said. "It's great to see and we keep developing that personality as the season goes along, but it's not easy to do."

The point is, the Padres really weren't supposed to be doing this kind of baseball considering they don't have their MVP candidate. Now, they have an MVP candidate (realistically, someone who should've been an MVP candidate to begin with) and they have stayed afloat.

I don't think we're talking enough about the Padres in the landscape of the NL West. We might need to now.

Meanwhile, the San Francisco Giants aren't as big world beaters as they were last year. You remember last season, how they went stride-for-stride with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the top spot in the division because of their rotation and timely hitting.

That is slowly coming up the rear this time around, but the Giants are still a competitive group. Unfortunately for them, they fell apart down the stretch and had to come back from an early deficit to at least force extras against the Padres.

Darin Ruf went 2-for-3 with a home run, and Wilmer Flores also had two hits. Jakob Junis did his best, matching the six innings that Sean Manaea threw, giving up four runs while striking out two. Alas, the bullpen collapsed late.

The Giants are still a talented group, but losing the pitching talent they did from last year has currently hurt them a bit. That's why it's kind of a shock to see the Padres surpassing them in such a big way to this point. There's about 120 games left to go so there's plenty of time.

But sheesh, it's been underwhelming.

That Padres pitching continues to be great, and they're sending Joe Musgrove to the mound with his 4-0 record and 2.20 ERA. I don't see why he can't keep that rolling against this lineup. Padres win 5-2

Padres are 18-21 the past three seasons as a road dog between +100 and +150.

Padres are 14-7 on the road this season.

Giants are 160-104 the past three seasons overall.

Giants are 3-5 as a home favorite between -125 and -175 this season.

Padres:
Jake Cronenworth (L) 2B
Ha-Seong Kim (R) SS
Manny Machado (R) 3B
Eric Hosmer (L) 1B
Luke Voit (R) DH
Wil Myers (R) RF
Jurickson Profar (S) LF
Jorge Alfaro (R) C
Trent Grisham (L) CF
SP - Joe Musgrove

Giants:
Austin Slater (R) CF
Darin Ruf (R) LF
Brandon Belt (L) 1B
Wilmer Flores (R) DH
Evan Longoria (R) 3B
Brandon Crawford (L) SS
Thairo Estrada (R) 2B
Joey Bart (R) C
Mike Yastrzemski (L) RF
SP - Carlos Rodon

Batting average: Manny Machado -- .353

Hits: Manny Machado -- 48

Home runs: Manny Machado -- 7

RBI: Eric Hosmer -- 24

Wins: Joe Musgrove -- 4

Saves: Taylor Rogers -- 14

ERA: Joe Musgrove -- 2.20

Batting average: Thairo Estrada -- .271

Hits: Thairo Estrada -- 36

Home runs: Joc Pederson -- 7

RBI: Two tied -- 20

Wins: Logan Webb -- 5

Saves: Camilo Doval -- 7

ERA: Carlos Rodon -- 3.49