Best MLB bets today: Giants vs. Padres prediction, picks, props for August 20

Two National League West rivals do battle on Wednesday when the San Diego Padres host the San Francisco Giants. The Padres entered last weekend atop the division but were swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers and enter Wednesday two games back in the standings. The Giants took Monday's series opener to hand the Padres their fourth loss in a row, but San Diego won Tuesday to snap its skid. The Giants and Padres square off in Game 3 of a four-game series at 9:40 p.m. ET on MLB Network. 

Those interested in MLB betting at the top sportsbooks can get the latest Giants vs. Padres odds, predictions and player props from the SportsLine Projection Model, which simulates every game 10,000 times.

Veteran lefty JP Sears (7-10, 5.12 ERA) starts for the Padres in his second start with the team after getting traded by the Athletics alongside All-Star reliever Mason Miller. Sears has made just one start for the Padres, which was five earned runs in five innings on Aug. 4 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, resulting in a demotion to Triple-A El Paso. The Giants start right-hander Landen Roupp (7-6, 3.45 ERA). 

Sears' strikeout prop at FanDuel Sportsbook is 4.5 (Over -128, Under +102), while Roupp's is even lower at 3.5 (Over -130, Under -102). The SportsLine Projection Model sees strong value on Roupp's strikeout prop, rating the Over as a 4.5-star play (out of 5 stars). Roupp's projection for tonight comes in at 4.5 punchouts, and he's struck out at least four batters in four of his past five starts. 

Three Giants lead the way for shortest home run odds in this contest. Willy Adames is +330 to homer, Heliot Ramos is +340 and Rafael Devers is priced at +360. As for the Padres, Fernando Tatis Jr. is +400 while Manny Machado is +450. 

The Padres are -155 money line favorites (wager $155 to win $100) in the latest SportsLine consensus odds, while the Giants are +129 underdogs (wager $100 to win $129). The total is positioned at 8, with the Over slightly favored at -111. You can find the model's latest projections and expert picks for Giants-Padres at SportsLine.

Here are the SportsLine model's projections for Giants vs. Padres on Wednesday.

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS at SAN DIEGO PADRES | 8/20 | 9:40 PM ET

Money line
Pick: Padres -155
San Diego wins in 63% of simulations, bringing value at these odds

Run line
Pick: Giants +1.5 (-166)
San Francisco covers in 62% of simulations, bringing value at these odds

Over/Under
Pick: Under 8 (-109)
The Under hits in 48.9% of simulations

Projected score: Padres 4.3, Giants 3.6