The knuckleball is back!
San Diego Padres starter Matt Waldron will make his Major League debut on Saturday night, becoming the first regular knuckleballer to pitch in the big leagues since Mickey Jannis pitched for the Orioles in 2021.
He gets a fairly easy opponent to begin his career in the Washington Nationals, who are currently in last place in the NL East. Josiah Gray (4-6, 3.64 ERA) gets the ball in this game as he looks to turn around what has been a rough month of June.
The Padres are heavily favored at home, but should bettors trust Waldron?
Here are the latest odds and my best bet for this game:
Nationals vs. Padres odds, run line and total
Nationals vs. Padres prediction and pick
Even though Waldron is making his MLB debut, I love a bet on the Padres in this game.
Let's start with the pitching aspect.
Waldron is going to be a different look for the Nationals, as knuckleballers only come around ever so often. Even if he doesn't give the Padres length in this game, the team's bullpen has been one of its lone bright spots, ranking third in the league in bullpen ERA (3.35) this season.
Washington has struggled as of late, going 2-8 over its last 10 games, and Gray has come back to earth after a great start to the season.
In the month of June, the young righty has a 6.04 ERA and 5.96 FIP in four starts. Washington is just 1-3 in those games, and Gray's worst outing was his last one, giving up nine hits and six runs in five innings against the St. Louis Cardinals.
I like the Padres to win this game fairly easily at home.
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
