Padres vs Braves Pick: Acuña Expected to Return for Atlanta (May 23)

• Our Padres vs Braves pick takes a look at sliding San Diego visiting rising Atlanta
• San Diego has lost 6 straight to fall to 27-21; Atlanta is back in contention after a 3-10 start
• Nick Pivetta starts for the Padres; defending NL Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale starts for the Braves
• Atlanta will reportedly activate former NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. for the game

Team	Run Line	Moneyline	Total
San Diego Padres	+1.5 (-180)	+125	O 8 (+106)
Atlanta Braves	-1.5 (+157)	-138	U 8 (-126)

The Padres Have Lost 6 Straight and 8 of 10

The Padres got off to a scorching start and were the talk of MLB, winning 14 of their first 17 games. Their offseason of limited spending and ownership drama was quickly forgotten, and they were considered a World Series contender. Since then, they have gone 13-18. They are in the throes of a 6-game losing streak and have lost 8 of 10. The Mariners and Blue Jays swept them in consecutive series.

Now they face the Braves, a team they swept in four straight games to start the season. However, these aren’t the same Braves.

Nick Pivetta starts for the Padres. The veteran righty is having the best season of his career so far in 2025. He has a 2.86 ERA in nine starts. He has thrown 50.1 innings, given up 35 hits, 16 earned runs, walked 15, and struck out 56. One shaky start against the Rockies blew up his ERA.

The Braves’ Orlando Arcia is 7 for 11 with a double and 2 home runs against Pivetta. Marcell Ozuna is 8 for 31, but 6 of the hits are home runs. Austin Riley is 5 for 24 with 2 homers. Matt Olson is 2 for 15 with a home run. Ozzie Albies is 7 for 37 with a triple.

Before Thursday’s 7-6 loss to the Blue Jays, in the prior five losses during the streak, the Padres scored a total of 3 runs.

Fernando Tatis’ numbers are still excellent, but not otherworldly like they were earlier in the season. He’s hitting .290 with 12 homers. Jackson Merrill is at .352 with a .937 OPS. Luis Arraez is back over .300 after a slow start. Manny Machado only has 3 homers.

The Braves Are Almost at Full Strength

The Braves are at full strength with Acuña returning and Spencer Strider back. Acuña batted .400 in his minor-league assignment.

The slugger played 49 games in 2024. The Braves sorely missed their former Rookie of the Year, MVP, 4X All-Star, and 3X Silver Slugger.

Marcell Ozuna’s numbers have fallen to Earth after an insane start. He still has an on-base percentage well over .400 and is hitting for power. Matt Olson is also starting to get back on track with 11 homers and an OPS above .800. The biggest benefit of Acuña’s return is that the Braves no longer need to play Alex Verdugo with his 0.0 bWAR.

Sale is back on his game. In his last start against the Red Sox, he threw 7 innings, gave up 5 hits, 1 run, and struck out 8.

Against Sale, the Padres’ Xander Bogaerts is 7 for 20 with a home run. Jose Iglesias is 11 for 36 with 2 doubles and a home run. Machado is 10 for 28 with 3 doubles and a home run. Martin Maldonado is 3 for 20 with a home run. Tatis is 3 for 9 with a home run.

Padres vs Braves Pick: Acuña and Sale Will Keep San Diego Down

Acuña’s return invigorates the Braves. They’ve been hot at the plate and Sale, while not back in CYA form, is pitching well. San Diego is having trouble scoring despite their losing outburst in the final game against the Blue Jays. Their woes will continue in Atlanta.

Pick Braves Moneyline (-138)

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