See the Updated Player Rankings for Padres vs Athletics – 4/8/25

San Diego Padres

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Athletics

The Oakland Athletics will host the San Diego Padres in a pivotal matchup on April 8, 2025, at Sutter Health Park. The Athletics are struggling this season with a record of 4-7, while the Padres have been impressive at 9-2. In their last game, the Athletics narrowly lost to the Padres by a score of 5-4, marking the second game in their series.

Oakland’s Jeffrey Springs is projected to take the mound, bringing with him a solid yet somewhat deceptive ERA of 4.00. Although he ranks as the 73rd best starting pitcher, his advanced metrics suggest he may have been lucky in his performances thus far. Springs’s recent outing on April 2 was a short one, where he allowed 4 earned runs in just 3 innings. With the Athletics’ offense ranking 12th in MLB, they will need to capitalize on their power, as they rank 3rd in home runs with 18 this season.

On the other hand, the Padres will counter with Dylan Cease, who has been nothing short of dominant, sporting a 3.38 ERA and ranking 18th among MLB starters. Cease’s last start on April 2 saw him limit the damage to just 1 earned run over 6 innings, showcasing his ability to stifle opponents. The projections indicate Cease may have been somewhat unlucky this year, suggesting he could improve even further.

Given the Athletics’ struggles and the Padres’ strong start, the matchup has the potential to tilt in favor of San Diego. Moreover, the Athletics’ batting average of .220 is concerning, especially against a pitcher of Cease’s caliber. With the game total set at 8.0 runs, it appears that the Padres’ potent offense could exploit the Athletics’ deficiencies, making them the team to watch as they look to build on their successful start to the season.

San Diego Padres Insights

• San Diego Padres – Moneyline (-135)
  Out of all the teams playing today, the best infield defense belongs to the San Diego Padres.
  Explain: Defense is an integral part of preventing hits and runs.
• Jose Iglesias – Over/Under 1.5 Total Bases (+130/-170)
  Bats such as Jose Iglesias with extreme flyball tendencies are usually more effective when facing pitchers like Jeffrey Springs who skew towards the groundball end of the spectrum.
  Explain: This mostly has to do with the way the hitter’s swing plane interacts with the pitch trajectory, and it can create boosted performance across all categories and hidden value few are considering.
• San Diego Padres – 2H Moneyline
  According to the leading projection system (THE BAT), the San Diego Padres’ bullpen grades out as the 4th-best among all MLB teams.
  Explain: Most bettors only consider the starting pitcher, but a strong bullpen sneakily creates a tougher matchup for the opposing offense and suppresses a game’s runs.

Athletics Insights

• Athletics – 1st Five Innings (F5) Moneyline (+115)
  Jeffrey Springs is an extreme flyball pitcher (35.9% FB% according to the leading projection system, THE BAT) and will be disadvantaged pitching in the #7 HR venue in the majors in this matchup.
  Explain: This pitcher’s skill set does not match up particularly well with the park he’s in today, which may lead to worse-than-usual performance.
• JJ Bleday – Over/Under 0.5 Total Bases (-145/+115)
  J.J. Bleday has taken a step back with his Barrel%; his 8.3% rate last season has fallen to 0% this year.
  Explain: Barrel% measures how often a player hits the ball at the optimal exit velocity and launch angle and is a terrific measure of underlying power.
• Shea Langeliers – Over/Under 0.5 Total Bases (-160/+125)
  In today’s game, Shea Langeliers is at a disadvantage facing the league’s 6th-deepest LF fences given that he hits his flyballs to the pull field at a 37.5% rate (95th percentile).
  Explain: This player’s skill set does not match up particularly well with the park he’s in today, which may lead to worse-than-usual performance.

Betting Trends

• Athletics – Moneyline (+115)
  The Athletics have hit the Moneyline in 43 of their last 88 games (+7.00 Units / 7% ROI)
• San Diego Padres – Moneyline (-135)
  The San Diego Padres have hit the Moneyline in 57 of their last 89 games (+18.50 Units / 15% ROI)
• Jake Cronenworth – Over/Under 0.5 Runs (+130/-170)
  Jake Cronenworth has hit the Runs Under in his last 10 away games (+10.00 Units / 47% ROI)