San Diego Padres vs Washington Nationals Prediction & Picks - MLB

Prediction published on 9/7/26, 1:20 PM  by Edgar Jibran | Modified on 9/7/26 at 10:35 PM in MLB Picks

This Monday night brings renewed MLB action, and one of the most anticipated matchups is between the Washington Nationals and the San Diego Padres. For that game, the odds currently favor the Padres, as they still have realistic chances of qualifying for the playoffs by the end of the regular season.

With this in mind, it should be noted that the Washington Nationals are far from being a competitive roster, so it makes sense not to find them favorites to win this first game of the series at San Diego. Furthermore, it cannot be ignored that Jake Irvin was chosen as the starting pitcher for this game, a controversial decision when considering that Irvin couldn’t have won any games since May 23rd.

Meanwhile, the San Diego Padres made the important decision to bring Nick Pivetta back to the starting lineup after recovering from right elbow inflammation, an injury first reported in April. Considering this, Pivetta isn’t expected to remain on the mound for more than 5 innings. Still, it will be difficult for him to maintain the consistent performance he showed before suffering the injury.