San Francisco Giants vs San Diego Padres Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 08/18/25

The San Diego Padres play host to the San Francisco Giants on Monday night. It was a tough weekend for the Padres, getting swept by the Dodgers. Prior to that series, the Padres had been on a tear, actually moving into first place in the West. But in typical fashion, they got bullied by big brother. Prior to that series, they swept the Giants, and the Giants scored only one run in each game. That included a matchup between these same two pitchers. Given the previous results, the general struggles of the Giants, and what has to be an angry Padres team, I am backing the Padres to win on Monday.

I hate having to back Nestor Cortes, but I also have to acknowledge that he has been perfectly fine in his two Padre starts. Against the Giants, he pitched 4.2 innings before being lifted, and honestly, that’s enough to bridge things to the best bullpen in baseball. Robbie Ray, on the other hand, yielded 4 runs to the Padres last week on a whopping 113 pitches. That is a lot, even for a guy that always throws over 100 pitches. I think the Padres will hit him again, and if the Padres are ahead after 5, the game is pretty much over with their bullpen. That is how I expect things to go on Monday. Give me the Padres to bounce back.

Giants vs Padres Prediction: Padres ML (-150) available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number.