The Athletics vs San Diego Padres Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 05/23/26

The San Diego Padres snapped a small 2-game losing streak with a 7-3 win over the Athletics in Game 1 of their 3-game weekend series on Friday. Neither starting pitcher was particularly good, but the A’s just couldn’t come up with any clutch hits, as they stranded 7 and went 1-of-8 with runners in scoring position. Meanwhile, the Padres (7) had 1 less hit than the A’s, but they stranded just 3 and benefited from a few home runs via Manny Machado, Ramon Laureano and Nick Castellanos. 

J.T. Ginn will take the mound for the Athletics, and the early-season returns are promising for the right-hander – who boasts a 2.98 ERA and 1.07 WHIP in 51.1 innings. He showed some inconsistencies at the very beginning of the year, but he has settled down in his last 3 starts – allowing just 3 earned runs combined while striking out 21 and walking 3. In fact, he lasted 8 innings in his last start against the Angels after doing the same just 2 starts prior against the Phillies. Needless to say, it seems the A’s trust him to go deep into games when needed, but don’t be surprised to see some slight regression from him. His xERA, xFIP and SIERA are all about a full run higher than his ERA, and he’s thrown 95+ pitches in 3 consecutive games ahead of this one.

The Padres will counter with Lucas Giolito, who will be making his 2nd start of the year. His first outing was against the Mariners last week, and despite holding them to just 1 hit, he allowed 3 earned runs thanks to 3 walks in 5 innings. I still need to see more from Giolito to feel confident backing him, especially considering he wasn’t very good across 4 minor league starts earlier this season. For reference, he surrendered 9 earned runs on 18 hits and 6 walks in 17 innings with 15 strikeouts across A and AA. At those levels, I expect better results from the seasoned veteran, even if working back from an injury. I’m giving the edge to the offenses here. Give me the over. 

Athletics vs Padres prediction: Over 8 (-105) at the time of publishing. Playable to -115. 

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