Padres vs. Mets: Picks, predictions, how to watch Friday’s game

The San Diego Padres and New York Mets square off on Friday with first pitch set for 7:10 p.m. ET. The game takes place at Citi Field in New York, NY and will only be available on local TV or through an MLB.tv subscription. Yu Darvish will take the hill for the Padres against Max Scherzer for the Mets.

The Padres (52-42) currently hold the send wild card spot in the NL coming out of the All-star break. They’ve been a good team this year, just stuck in a division with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are on a different level right now. The most impressive part about the Padres' run is that they’ve done this without their star Fernando Tatis Jr. Manny Machado has filled the void left by Tatis Jr., hitting .303 with 15 HR, 51 RBI, and a .890 OPS.

The Mets (58-35) were sitting comfortably in first place of the NL East before the Atlanta Braves ripped off a 14-game winning streak and closed the gap. The Mets are clinging on to a 2.5-game division lead as they start the second half of their season. The pitching staff has been good this season despite Scherzer and Jacob DeGrom missing time on the IL. Their 3.61 ERA ranks sixth in the league, and 891 strikeouts are good for second. Pete Alonso led the way hitting .265 ERA. 24 HR, 78 RBI, and a .853 OPS.

Padres vs. Mets

Pitchers: Yu Darvish vs. Max Scherzer
First pitch: 7:10 p.m. ET
Padres local broadcast: Bally Sports San Diego
Mets local broadcast: SNY
Live stream: MLB.tv (subscription)

Odds, picks & predictions

Run Line: Mets -1.5 (+120)
Run total: 6.5
Moneyline odds: Padres +155, Mets -180

Moneyline pick: Mets -180

When Scherzer is on the mound, it’s hard to pick against the Mets. Even at age 37, he’s still lights-outs. In his last five starts, Scherzer is 2-0 with a 1.41 ERA, 41 strikeouts, and three walks. Don’t expect a high-scoring game with Darvish on the mound for the Padres. The Mets average 4.7 points per game at home. Take the Mets at home.

Player prop pick: Max Scherzer over 7.5 strikeouts (+100)

Scherzer has faced the Padres 16 times in his career and has 142 strikeouts for an average of 8.8 per outing. He also has 41 in his last five games, which comes out to over eight per game. It seems as if he’s getting better with age. Take Scherzer and the over.

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