A’s And D’Backs Limp Into Weekend Series
Athletics at Diamondbacks Series Preview and Odds
- A’s vs D’Backs predictions: Arizona is favored with a -170 moneyline and +140 runline; the total for Game 1 is 9 runs.
- Oakland is on a five-game losing streak; Arizona has lost four of their last five games.
- Oakland struggles with scoring, while Arizona’s pitching staff has been weak recently.
A’s vs D’Backs predictions: a recap before tonight’s match
Both the Oakland Athletics and Arizona Diamondbacks have had a rough go of it recently as Oakland is on a five-game losing streak while Arizona has dropped four of five.
They’ll meet for three games this weekend, starting on Friday night, with the A’s trying to get back to relevance even if their playoff dreams are dashed and the Diamondbacks looking to make up some ground in the rather mushy NL Wild Card race.
- The A’s vs D’Backs predictions have Arizona as -170 moneyline favorites and +140 runline favorites on the runline for Game 1. The total is 9 runs.
Oakland was just swept by the division rival Los Angeles Angels and has scored two runs or fewer in four of the five games on this current skid.
The A’s have had trouble scoring all season because they heavily rely on the home run ball and, lately, they haven’t even been able to count on getting big flies. MLB picks and parlays siding with Oakland have not been doing well as the A’s’ lack of offensive talent has become apparent.
The Diamondbacks haven’t fared all that much better as they have slipped back a bit over the past week. Arizona’s main problem? Pitching. The Minnesota Twins shelled them in their last two losses, and their starters are not performing well right now.
The most recent failure was Jordan Montgomery’s ugly outing against Minnesota on Thursday in which he gave up eight runs (four earned) in 2 2/3 innings. Arizona’s staff could be the antidote to Oakland’s offensive struggles.
Athletics at Diamondbacks 
📊 Records: Oakland Athletics (29-54), Arizona Diamondbacks (39-42),
📅 Date, Time: Friday, June 28, 9:40 PM ET
📍 Location: Chase Field; Phoenix, AZ
📺 Stream: NBCSCA, ARID
Oakland Has To Scrape Together Some Runs
Across the board, the A’s have one of the worst offenses in baseball. They’re 28th in batting average, on-base percentage, runs scored, and stolen bases, and 27th in OPS. Their only saving grace — which is important to note for your A’s vs D’Backs predictions — is the home run ball as they’ve hit the eighth-most in the majors.
However, a big reason for their offensive struggles as of late is that their dinger pace has tailed off and hasn’t been replaced by any other form of scoring.
Oakland has only gone deep four times in the past five games, a span in which the A’s have scored just 10 runs. The A’s struggle to score. They can’t hit for extra bases, and injuries like Esteury Ruiz’s absence zap their baserunning ability, preventing them from manufacturing runs.
It’s not easy for them even while getting good production from Brent Rooker, JJ Bleday, and Shea Langeliers.
No wonder why the MLB odds have Arizona as a big favorite for Friday’s game.
@athletics Opening Day vibes 🤙 #mlb #baseball #baseballtiktok #baseballszn #openingday ♬ original sound – Oakland Athletics
Diamondbacks Haven’t Been Able To Stop A Nosebleed
The saving grace for Oakland is that the Arizona pitching staff has been horrible so even the A’s could scratch together some runs against the Diamondbacks this weekend.
If you’re making A’s vs D’Backs predictions, you should consider that Arizona has given up 41 runs in its last five games. This includes a pair of double-digit efforts. It is in the bottom five in most major pitching categories, particularly ERA, WHIP, strikeout rate, and hit rate.
Free agent pickups Montgomery (6.03 ERA) & Rodríguez (injured) turn expected strength into a disaster for the rotation.
Brandon Pfaadt, Ryne Nelson, Slade Cecconi, and Tommy Henry have all struggled and while Zac Gallen has been as good as usual, he has missed a good portion of the season due to injury. Also, Merrill Kelly has been out for over two months with a shoulder strain.
This weekend, Arizona will start Cecconi (5.74 ERA with two homers allowed per nine innings), then Gallen (coming off a hamstring injury) returns from the IL on Saturday before Pfaadt gets the nod in the finale.
Not exactly the most promising trio for the Diamondbacks as they try to move up in the jumbled MLB playoff standings for the NL’s third Wild Card spot. Cecconi is a big liability, particularly due to his home run problems.
Bet On Oakland For The Upset
- If there’s ever a time to take the A’s at good value — +140 to win straight-up on the moneyline — it’s on Friday with Cecconi starting for Oakland.
The A’s will go with lefty JP Sears, and while Sears has a 5.04 ERA, a lot of that is due to his abnormally bad start against the Twins last time out, in which he gave up eight runs in 1 1/3 innings. However, he has been much better than that this season. Furthermore, that was his second-straight start against Minnesota, which is never easy for a starter.
- With Arizona’s pitching issues in full force, look for Oakland to get the bats going again. Also, consider going with the over 9 runs (-115) with each side having major pitching issues.
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