Yahoo Sports Dog of the Day: Unlike Dodgers, you can sometimes catch the Padres as an underdog
The Los Angeles Dodgers left Houston with their two-season streak of being favored intact.
The San Diego Padres aren't on that level yet.
The Padres are a slight underdog against the Houston Astros on Friday night. They're -105 at BetMGM, and the Astros are -115. On a betting slate that doesn't have many enticing underdogs, getting the Padres at a price like that is intriguing.
The Padres have the best record in baseball at 32-19. They're a half-game ahead of the Dodgers. The Padres have won 14 of 17 and two of the losses came in extra innings. They're a talented team that can win with its hitting or pitching. It's the type of team you need to consider anytime they're -110 or better.
The Astros have been playing better lately, and Friday's starter Framber Valdez is very good. But he also hasn't pitched yet this season due to a finger injury. It's hard to know what to expect from him on Friday night.
The same can be said for Padres starter Dinelson Lamet. Lamet is very good when he's healthy, but an elbow injury from last season has limited him. The Padres have been very careful with him; Lamet hasn't gone more than three innings in a start yet. But the good news is he has pitched well. He has a 1.64 ERA.
The Padres basically are using an opener who will give them perhaps three (good) innings and then use a bullpen that has the best ERA in the majors this season. That's not a bad proposition.
With the Padres on Friday night, you're getting a team with the best record in MLB that has been red hot and doesn't give away much (if anything at all) in the starting pitching matchup. They're not a huge underdog, but 32-19 teams usually won't get a big number. The -105 odds on the Padres are good enough for a bet. It's not like you'll get them in an underdog spot too often.
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