Dodgers vs. Padres Game 3 Prediction: Odds, expert picks, pitching matchup, betting trends and stats

San Diego hit six home runs, tempers flared, and the Padres beat Los Angeles 10-2, drawing just one each in their best-of-five series. Yu Darvish was exceptional on the mound for San Diego, giving up just 1 run on 3 hits in 7 innings to earn the win. Jack Flaherty gave up 4 runs in 5.1 innings and suffered the loss.

Padres left fielder Jurickson Profar ran afoul of some fans after giving the Dodgers and their fans a 1st^st Inning home run. As the game progressed, fans threw baseballs and trash at Profar. Shortly after, Manny Machado claimed that the Dodgers intentionally threw at Tatis Jr., and Tatis Jr. seems all too willing to play the role of villain for Dodger Nation.

The series now moves to Petco Park in San Diego for Games 3 and 4 of this Best of 5 Divisional Round series.

Walker Buehler will get the ball to start Game 3 for the Dodgers, while Michael King will start for the Padres.

Let’s dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two.

We have all the information and analysis you need to know before the game, including the latest on how to catch the first pitch, the scheduled pitching matchup, current team performance, player stats and of course our predictions, tips & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and our team of experts.

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Game details and how to watch Dodgers @ Padres – Game 3

● Date: Tuesday, October 8, 2024
● Time: 9:08 p.m. ET
● Location: Petco Park
● City: San Diego, California
● TV/Streaming: FS1

Don't miss a second of the action and stay up to date with the latest team stats and player news. Check out our daily routine MLB schedule pagealong with detailed matchup pages that are updated live in-game with every out.

Dodgers @ Padres Game Odds – Game 3

The latest odds from Monday evening:

● Money line: San Diego Padres (-150), Los Angeles Dodgers (+125)
● Spread: Padres -1.5 (+145), Dodgers +1.5 (-175)
● In total: 7.5

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Likely starting players for Dodgers @ Padres – Game 3

● Pitching matchup on Tuesday (October 8): Walker Buehler vs. Michael King

○ Padres: King – pitched 7 innings of 5-hit, shutout ball with 12 Ks against Atlanta in the Wild Card Round. Pitched against the Dodgers on September 24th and pitched 5 innings of shutout baseball.
○ Dodgers: Bühler – 1^st Postseason appearance since 2021. In 15 career playoff starts, Buehler is 3-3 with a 2.94 ERA in 79.2 innings. He last faced the Padres on September 26th and pitched 5 innings with 5 hits and 1 run ball.

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Top betting trends and insights to know ahead of Padres @ Dodgers

• Michael King threw 173.2 innings in 2024. That's 76 more innings than in any previous season.
• Walker Buehler was 1-6 with a 5.38 ERA over 75.1 innings in 2024.
• Fernando Tatis Jr. is hitting .643 in the postseason. In 4 games, Tatis has at least 1 hit in every game and is 9-14 overall with 3 HRs and 5 RBIs
• Since September 1st^stTatis has scored at least 1 goal in 20 of 26 games.
• Jackson Merrill is 6-14 (.429) in the playoffs.
• The only Dodgers regulars to hit over .286 are Gavin Lux (.429) and Tommy Edman (.429).

Playoff history for San Diego and Los Angeles

• Padres: San Diego now holds a record of 21-33 in postseason history. They reached the World Series twice, losing in both 1984 and 1998.
• Dodgers: LA owns an all-time playoff record of 11,550-10,210. They have won 7 World Series titles – 1959, 1963, 1965, 1981, 1988 and 2020.

If you're looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on today's schedule, check out our MLB Top Trends Tool on NBC Sports!

Expert tips and predictions for Game 3 of the series between Los Angeles and San Diego

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Our model calculates predictions for every moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points such as past performance, player matchups, stadium information and weather forecasts.

Once the model is finished running, we place its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to determine a relative confidence level for each bet.

Here are the best bets our model predicts for Dodgers @ Padres Game 3:

• Money line: NBC Sports recommends a game against the Padres on the moneyline
• Spread: NBC Sports recommends a game against the Padres on the run line
• Total number of runs: NBC Sports is leaning toward a game with the total OVER 7.5 runs

Want even more best MLB bets and predictions from our team of experts and tools? Check this out Expert MLB Predictions NBC Sports page for moneyline, spread and overall picks for each of the games on today's calendar!

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