Pick on the Moneyline for Braves-Padres on Sunday

It has been a tough stretch for Yu Darvish with the San Diego Padres just 4-12 in his last 16 starts dating back to 2021, but has an opportunity on the bright lights of Sunday Night Baseball to make a statement against the defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves.

Atlanta Braves vs San Diego Padres (-130, 8)

Rookie Bryce Elder gets the start for Atlanta after allowing three runs in 5.2 innings in his MLB debut and did not issue a single walk, though doing that two starts in a row might be difficult after he issued 4.9 walks per nine innings at the AAA level in 2021.

Both teams have had rocky starts in the bullpen this season with both being in the bottom 10 in ERA this season after both were in the top 10 of this category last season.

Since arriving in San Diego prior to the start of the 2021 season, Darvish has done his best work in San Diego, posting a 3.38 ERA at Petco Park with a 6.5 strikeout to walk rate in 17 starts while logging a 6.07 road ERA with a 2.5 strikeout to walk rate on the road.

Both offenses are in the league in total strikeouts and Darvish is averaging 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings at home since the start of the 2021 season while Elder got four strikeouts in his first career MLB start.

Home cooking is what Darvish needs to get on line and has been on the big stage before while this will be Elder’s first start in prime time, one in which the lights will be too bright for on Sunday.

The Play: Padres -130

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