It is the final day of the regular season, and the Arizona Diamondbacks play the San Diego Padres. On the final day, motivation is everything, and that has us on the D-Backs to win. In order to make the playoffs, Arizona has to win on Sunday, and they also need the Phillies to lose. That would leave them in a tie, and the Snakes would win the tiebreaker. The Phillies are playing Tampa, and with a full week off looming for the Rays, you can expect the Rays to play everyone, making the deal tougher on Philly. If the door is open, the Diamondbacks will be fully motivated to kick it open, and that is why they are Sunday’s MLB best bet.
What about the Padres? They have nothing to gain today, as they have locked up the #4 seed and will play the wild card series at home. With that series beginning on Tuesday, they took down Michael King, who was due to start today, if needed, and they will instead roll out a parade of lesser arms. They may let Randy Vasquez throw until his arm falls off, and then finish the game with guys that might not make the wild-card roster. Hitters may take a day off too. With such a difference in team goals today, you have to take the Snakes.
Diamondbacks vs Padres Prediction: Arizona Diamondbacks ML (-125) available at the time of publishing. Playable to -150.
