The San Diego Padres are set to take on the Washington Nationals in a showdown in the nation’s capital. The Padres will put Yu Darvish on the mound against the Nationals’ MacKenzie Gore. Despite the Padres being a -155 favorite with the total listed at a modest eight, the question stands, what do we anticipate from this Padres-Nationals encounter?

Currently, San Diego is a challenging bet. They are in a predicament that could be compared to catching a falling knife, which certainly makes Washington intriguing. On the Nationals’ side, left-handed pitcher Gore has the potential to disrupt the Padres, particularly with the absence of the power right-handed bat, Manny Machado.

Darvish, theoretically, is the stronger pitcher here, but what that means for this matchup isn’t entirely clear. It might be worth looking at the under in this game, considering San Diego’s struggle to find runs.

Looking at the last 30 days for Gore, his 3.46 xFIP is commendable, along with a K rate of around 30%, precisely what you’d hope for. As for the Padres, with Machado out, there are only two batters, Fernando Tatis and Ha-Seong Kim, who can hit lefties well, sporting weighted on-base percentages of .459 and .396, respectively, over the past month. But with the rest of the lineup performing under the radar, an offensive breakout doesn’t seem likely.

Therefore, the under could be the best play in this game. While Darvish is generally the more proven pitcher, the state of the Padres’ offense and Gore’s recent performances could align for a low-scoring contest.