Moneyline • San Diego Padres

I’m siding with the Padres — not because I’m dramatic, but because taking the cleaner path often beats hoping for a comeback. They match up well enough to make the straightforward play; that’s my mildly smug reasoning. Since there’s no spread here, you’re asking for an outright win rather than a margin of victory, so the expected flow is a Padres-led game where they try to control innings and limit big Chicago rallies.