Padres vs. Cubs Prediction, Odds, Probable Pitchers and Prop Bets for NL Wild Card Game 3

Yu Darvish faces off against his former team with a trip to the NLDS on the line.

Yu Darvish faces off against his former team with a trip to the NLDS on the line. / Matt Marton-Imagn Images

There will be a winner-take-all Game 3 at Wrigley Field on Thursday afternoon after the San Diego Padres shut out the Chicago Cubs in Game 2.

San Diego scored in the first inning and never looked back, aided by a two-run home run from Manny Machado in the 3-0 victory. Chicago managed just four hits against the Padres, three of which came in the first four innings against Dylan Cease.

Who will win Game 3 and advance to face the Brewers in the NLDS?

Here are the odds, probable pitchers, and predictions for Padres vs. Cubs on Thursday afternoon.

Padres vs. Cubs Odds, Run Line and Total

Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook

Run Line

• Padres -1.5 (+168)
• Cubs +1.5 (-205)

Moneyline

• Padres +100
• Cubs -118

Total

• 7.5 (Over -110/Under -110)

Padres vs. Cubs Probable Pitchers

• Padres: Yu Darvish (5-5, 5.38 ERA)
• Cubs: Jameson Taillon (11-7, 3.68 ERA)

Padres vs. Cubs How to Watch

• Date: Thursday, October 2
• Time: 5:00 p.m. ET
• Venue: Wrigley Field
• How to Watch (TV): ABC
• Padres record: 90-72 (1-1)
• Cubs record: 92-70 (1-1)

Padres vs. Cubs Best MLB Prop Bets

Padres Best MLB Prop Bet

• Yu Darvish OVER 3.5 Strikeouts (-132)

Yu Darvish gets the ball in a must-win Game 3 against his former team. It’s been a year to forget for Darvish, who allowed 43 ER in 72 innings across 15 starts. However, he was still able to rack up 68 strikeouts to keep his K/9 at 8.5.

The Padres are going to have a close eye on Darvish, who did not complete six innings in any of his final six starts. In fact, he didn’t reach five innings in three of those six outings.

But he was still able to get his share of strikeouts. He had at least four strikeouts in his last five starts, posting 26 punchouts in 24.1 innings.

Darvish still has strikeout stuff and should last long enough to get at least four on Thursday afternoon.

Padres vs. Cubs Prediction and Pick

While I’m backing Darvish’s strikeouts for my prop, I’m fading the righthander for my best bet.

Darvish did not fare well overall this season, but he was especially bad on the road. He allowed 25 ER in 31 IP (7.26 ERA) across seven starts away from Petco Park as opposed to a 3.95 ERA at home.

The Padres went 3-4 in Darvish’s road starts, and they were lucky to do that. He allowed at least three runs in five away outings, and even the White Sox got two runs on six hits across 4.2 innings in his final road start of the season.

On the flip side, Jameson Taillon had a fantastic finish to the season despite dealing with a calf strain and groin issue. In his final six starts since August 19, he allowed just six runs across 34.1 innings for a sparkling 1.57 ERA. He did not allow more than two runs in any of those six starts, and he only did that once (in Atlanta).

Home-field advantage was huge for both of these teams this season as the Cubs went 50-31 at home while the Padres went 38-43 on the road. That’s going to make the difference on Thursday.

Pick: Cubs Moneyline (-118)

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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