San Diego Padres vs Los Angeles Dodgers Prediction & Picks - MLB

Prediction published on 3/20/24, 9:40 AM  by Matthew Newman in MLB Picks

Game two of the regular season as the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres play again in Seoul, South Korea. The Dodgers will send Yoshinobu Yamamoto to the mound while Joe Musgrove gets the start for the Padres. Yamamoto arrived to huge expectations but got off to a poor start, with an 8.38 ERA in three spring training starts, giving up nine runs in just 9 2/3 innings. He had a 1.82 ERA in seven seasons in the Japanese league so he should figure things out once he has settled in. The Dodgers have looked the team to beat in the National League during spring training with one of the strongest lineups going. Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman combined for 390 hits in 2023, including 99 doubles and 68 home runs. Adding Shohei Ohtani into the mix is going to see them beating up on a lot of teams.

Musgrove got lit up by the Dodgers in the opening game of spring training, unable to even get an out in the first inning, giving up four runs. He has given up nine runs in six innings across three starts this spring for an inflated ERA of 13.50. He's made 78 regular season starts for the Padres across three seasons so far, combining for an ERA of 3.05. Like Yamamoto, he will come good again, showing signs of that in his third start when only giving up one run in 4 1/3 against the Oakland Athletics. The Padres look very different this season, their top hitter Juan Soto is now a Yankee, their Cy Young winner Blake Snell is now a Giant while closer Josh Hader is now an Astro. Those spots will take a huge amount of filling.