The San Diego Padres (0-1) and Los Angeles Dodgers (1-0) close out the 2-game Korea Series Thursday morning in Seoul, South Korea. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 a.m. ET (ESPN) with the Dodgers being the home team for this one — the Padres were the home team Wednesday. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Padres vs. Dodgers odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: Dodgers lead 1-0; Los Angeles won 5-2 as a heavy favorite (-215) while the Under (8.5) cashed.
The Dodgers won the 1st MLB regular-season Game ever played on South Korean soil, posting the 5-2 victory with 7 hits. Los Angeles SS Mookie Betts led off and collected a pair of singles, a walk and an RBI. Betts and DH Shohei Ohtani collected multiple hits for the Dodgers . Los Angeles batters also drew 9 walks, while taking advantage of 2 San Diego errors.
The Padres managed just 4 hits, with 2B Xander Bogaerts knocked a pair of singles with an RBI. Neither team had a home run, or even an extra-base hit, with all 11 knocks being singles. San Diego did draw 4 walks, while L.A. had 9, and that was the biggest story from Game 1.
Padres vs. Dodgers projected starters
RHP Joe Musgrove vs. RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Musgrove (10-3, 3.05 ERA) made 17 starts in 2023. He posted a 1.14 WHIP, 1.9 BB/9 and 9.0 K/9 through 97 1/3 innings.
- 2023 night game splits: Went 6-1 with a 2.72 ERA with 6 BB and 50 K across 46 1/3 IP in 8 starts
- 2023 splits vs. Dodgers: 0-1, 3.38 ERA across 10 2/3 IP in 2 starts with 7 BB and 10 K
Yamamoto (17-6, 1.16 ERA) made 24 appearances for Orix in the Nippon (Japan) Professional Baseball League in 2023. He’ll make his MLB debut Thursday.
- 2024 spring stats: 0-1, 8.38 ERA in 3 starts. He has a 1.97 WHIP with 4 BB and 14 K in 9 2/3 innings
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Padres vs. Dodgers odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Wednesday at 11:16 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Padres +155 (bet $100 to win $155) | Dodgers -190 (bet $190 to win $100)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Padres +1.5 (-125) | Dodgers -1.5 (+105)
- Over/Under (O/U): 8.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)
Padres vs. Dodgers picks and predictions
Prediction
Dodgers 6, Padres 5
Moneyline
The Dodgers (-190) took care of Business in the opener, winning by 3 runs, but they’re turning to an import pitcher making his Major League debut in Game 2. It’s risky, as there just isn’t much of a sample size with Yamamoto. Truth be told, so far the sample size hasn’t been great in Cactus League play.
On the flip side, the Padres (+155) can’t be trusted with Musgrove, who struggled in 2 starts against the Dodgers in 2023. The light-hitting Padres really struggled to cobble together much offense on Wednesday.
PASS.
Run line/Against the spread
The PADRES +1.5 (-125) aren’t priced out of line, if you’d like a little bit of a insurance, but don’t want to play San Diego straight up.
The Padres should be able to piece together a little more offense against the unproven Yamamoto, than they did against Wednesday starter RHP Tyler Glasnow and L.A. in the opener. We should see our 1st extra-base hits of the season, too.
Over/Under
OVER 8.5 (-115) is worth a look in Game 2, as we should see an uptick in offense, including the first extra-base hits of the season, and perhaps a home run or two.
We weren’t sure how the Gocheok Sky Dome would play, and it turned out it is a single haven as Glasnow and San Diego’s Wednesday starter RHP Yu Darvish each fared pretty well. We still saw 7 total runs, and an increase an offense is expected with lesser pitching on the bump Thursday.
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