Padres vs. Yankees prediction and odds for Sunday, May 28 (Trust strong starting pitching)

New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole (45) delivers a pitch.
New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole (45) delivers a pitch. / Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Yankees and San Diego Padres play the rubber match of their three-game series on Sunday afternoon with their respective aces on the mound. 

Gerrit Cole (5-0, 2.53 ERA) has not factored into a decision since April 27, but he’s still pitched fairly well despite his ERA climbing a bit after allowing five runs to the Baltimore Orioles in his last game. 

Cole will take on Yu Darvish (3-3, 3.67 ERA), who has turned in three quality starts in four outings so far this month. 

Let’s break down the odds and a best bet for this matinee matchup: 

Padres vs. Yankees odds, run line and total

Padres vs. Yankees prediction and pick 

Given the pitching matchup, I absolutely love the UNDER here even at the low total of 7.5. 

The first two games of this series have been low scoring, with the Padres picking up a 5-1 win on Friday night and the Yankees battling back to win in extras on Sunday, 3-2. 

Now, we get to see the two best pitchers for each team on the mound and just need seven or fewer runs? Sign me up. 

Cole has not been as effective this month, but he’s still allowed two or fewer runs in nine of his 11 outings. That’s a great floor against a Padres team that could still be without Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts due to injury in this game. 

Meanwhile, the Yankees have gone back to struggling at the dish, ranking 24th in the league in OPS over the last week of games. 

Even when Cole and Darvish exit, these two teams have great bullpens to keep offense to a minimum. New York is first in MLB in bullpen ERA while the Padres clock in at No. 6. 

The UNDER is the way to go for the third straight game in this series. 


Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.