San Diego Padres vs Pittsburgh Pirates Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 04/07/26

The San Diego Padres will look to keep things rolling as they get ready to take on Paul Skenes and the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Padres took care of business in the series opener, shutting out Pittsburgh 5-0, but today presents a much tougher challenge as they’re set to go up against one of the most talented arms in baseball. Skenes enters this matchup 1-1 with a 9.53 ERA, but don’t let that number fool you. Skenes struck out five and allowed one run in five innings pitched against the Reds, and his inflated ERA is largely due to defensive misplays by Oneil Cruz in the season opener. Taking the mound for the Padres will be Nick Pivetta who enters with a 1-1 record and a 6.75 ERA. Pivetta struggled in his season opener, but was terrific against the Giants in his last start, pitching five scoreless innings and striking out eight. 

Offensively, the Pirates rank 11th in batting average (.239) averaging 4.5 runs per game. San Diego ranks 21st batting .218 averaging 3.7 runs per game. In tonight’s matchup, I trust the Pirates more with Paul Skenes on the mound than I do the Padres With Pivetta. Sure, Pivetta had a strong outing in his last start, but that was against a San Francisco Giants team that’s struggled to put runs up on the board and get on base. Even though the Padres are the more talented team, the Pirates have been the more reliable offensive team to start the season – and they have the better arm on the mound.  Look for the Pirates to bounce back in this matchup and pick up a win on their home field, making Pittsburgh my best pick of the day. 

Padres vs Pirates prediction: Pirates ML (-150) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.