There's no reason San Diego should lose at home Wednesday to Washington in a getaway MLB game
Sep 9, 2026 at
9:02 am ET • 5 min read
With that in mind, the almost cannot afford to lose today at home against skidding Washington ahead of a long trip. There are a handful of matinees on a getaway day, and this one has the co-latest start at 4:10 ET from Petco Park. It's the final meeting of the season between these clubs, with the having no shot at extra baseball. The public is smashing Padres money line.
As things stand entering Wednesday, Arizona has a half-game lead over San Diego for that No. 6 seed, and I don't see either club truly threatening the or for one of the top two wild-card spots. DraftKings lists the Snakes as +145 favorites for that No. 6 spot and the Padres at +170, with no one else below +600. It just so happens that they close the regular season against each other Sept. 25-27 in San Diego, so that could be really fun. The series is currently deadlocked 5-5, so it may well come down to that final Sunday.
Fans can try and get bonuses. The from its 10,000 simulations, and our SGP price: +109 (subject to change)
Today could be a nice spot for San Diego to regain that No. 6 seed, because obviously I think it wins here. The Diamondbacks are finishing a long road trip in Kansas City tonight, with struggling (9-13, 5.06 ERA) on the hill, so that may well be a loss.
I generally have rooted for the Padres to finally win the first World Series in franchise history in recent years, only because I so respect how aggressive general manager AJ Preller has been in terms of shipping out prospects at the trade deadline for veterans on short-term contracts. Preller did it again this year, landing two very good starting pitchers in lefty from the and righty from the for more prospects.
Both will be free agents, and frankly both have struggled with their new team. It probably won't surprise you to know that San Diego's farm system now ranks dead last in baseball due to all those Preller deals.
Today, it's another pending free agent in (8-6, 4.56 ERA). While those numbers don't look that outstanding, if you take away three straight bad starts entering the All-Star break, that season ERA would be about 3.20. The veteran right-hander has been one of the most profitable starters in the majors at plus-$981 because the Padres are 19-9 in his 20 starts.
Buehler doesn't go super deep into games, which is why he has lost out on so many decisions. A handful of times he has failed to go even five full innings, but not since Aug. 6. Buehler hasn't allowed more than three earned in his past nine and has a single loss in that span.
Padres manager recently shared why he though Buehler has been dialed in since after the break: "I think he smells the postseason. That's one thing that's part of his career is being a part of that every single year. So he smells that. He knows the team needs the quality starts. "
Buehler was in five postseasons with the earlier this decade and closed out the 2024 World Series win at Yankee Stadium with a Game 5 save. Buehler hasn't seen Washington this year, and the SportsLine Projection Model forecasts him at 4.8 innings (don't agree there), 4.2 strikeouts, 4.9 hits allowed and 2.5 earned runs. No current Nationals batter has more than five at-bats off him, and none have homered.
Washington is playing out the string but at least has topped its 2025 win total, and it is likely to win its most games since 2019, when the franchise captured its only World Series. The Nationals have two stellar position players in second baseman and DH , and both are having big seasons. Where did the Nationals get them? By sending to the Padres at the 2022 trade deadline, another Preller special. He didn't do well on that deal.
The Nats are poised for a winless West Coast trip and have dropped six in a row overall (first loss of skid was at home). They set an unwanted Bet on MLB and more at FanDuel, where bettors can get up to $350 in bonus bets:
I'm 3-0 and up about +400 in parlays in this space this week (two MLB, one CFB), so let's keep the gravy train going. Yes, the Padres are dead last in the majors in OPS against lefty starters – that should help with the total. Again, though, every possible intangible is in their favor today, and they just have to have it. Maybe the Nats help us by giving Wood and/or Adams a breather. Seems like one of them is due a day off. .
