San Diego Padres vs Texas Rangers Prediction & Picks - MLB

Prediction published on 7/4/24, 8:17 AM  by Bill Christy | Modified on 7/4/24 at 8:18 AM in MLB Picks

San Deigo (47-43) is wrapping up their 6-game road trip with a rubber match with the Texas Rangers (39-47). The Padres are 3-2 on their road trip but have won 10 of their last 13 games. They still trail the Dodgers by 7.5 games in the NL West but currently hold the 2nd wildcard spot in the NL. After snapping a 6-game losing streak, the Rangers won back-to-back games before losing their Wednesday game to the Padres 6-4. Today, the winner of the series will be decided after the Rangers shutout the Padres in game one 7-0. The Rangers will have veteran Max Scherzer (1-1, 1.74) on the hill for his 3rd start of the season. He has looked solid through two starts and 10.1 total innings. He has allowed just 2 runs on 5 total hits and has struck out 4 in each game. He will be countered by the Padres’ Michael King (6-5, 3.61). King is coming off a nice start against the Red Sox in his last outing. He went 6 innings and allowed just 1 run on 5 hits to pick up his 6th win of the season. He did this after having one of his worst starts of the season in the start previous which came against the Brewers. The Padres are currently ranked 2nd in the majors with a combined batting average of .262. This will get tested as the Rangers have the 6th best combined batting average against by their pitchers combined.