On Saturday, the New York Yankees (21-16, 1st AL East) will play the middle game of a three-game series on the road versus the Athletics (20-18, 2nd AL West). New York defeated the San Diego Padres 4-3 on Wednesday. The Yankees won two out of three over the Padres before heading to the West Coast. New York leads the American League East by two games over Boston. The Athletics lost to the Seattle Mariners 6-5 on Wednesday. The Athletics have lost two straight, but are second in the AL West, three games behind the first-place Mariners. New York will play without 11 pitchers, as well as position players Cole Gabrielson, Giancarlo Stanton, DJ LeMahieu, and Jazz Chisholm. The Athletics will play without seven pitchers and position players Zack Gelof and Ryan Lasko. Make sure to read this in-depth in the New York Yankees vs Athletics prediction. Hit a home run with our top MLB picks for the New York Yankees vs. the Athletics prediction.
New York is one of the best at the plate and getting tougher on the mound
The New York Yankees are in the top seven of four major hitting categories. New York is first in both on-base percentage at .342 and slugging percentage at .465. The Yankees are third in runs scored with 206 (5.6 runs per game) and seventh in batting average at .258. Aaron Judge is New York's stats king, leading the Yankees in batting average (.400), home runs (12), RBI (34), hits (56), and on-base percentage (.491). Trent Grisham is second in home runs with 10, and Austin Wells is second in RBI with 23. New York has hit 63 doubles, five triples, and 62 home runs for 130 extra-base hits in 37 games.
New York is second in batting average against at .206, 8th in WHIP at 1.20, 11th in ERA at 3.59, and 19th in Quality Starts with 11. Max Fried is leading New York in wins with 6 and ERA for starters at 1.05. Carlos Rodon will get the nod on the mound Saturday. This season, the left-hander is 4-3 with a 2.96 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, and 57 strikeouts, which leads the Yankees.
The Athletics are above average at the plate but need help on the mound
The Athletics are fifth in batting average at .258, 6th in slugging percentage at .421, 13th in on-base percentage at .319, and 15th in runs scored with 165 (4.34 rpg). Brent Rooker and Tyler Sodorstrom are the co-leaders in home runs with nine apiece. Shea Langeliers is third with seven. Soderstrom is the leader in RBI with 25, and Jacob Wilson is second with 21. The Athletics have eight players with 12 RBI or more. The Athletics have hit 59 doubles, 6 triples, and 47 home runs for 112 extra base hits in 38 games.
The Athletics are 19th in Quality Starts with 11, 25th in both WHIP at 1.41 and batting average against at .253, and 26th in ERA at 4.46. JP Sears, who will start on the mound Saturday for the Athletics, is leading the A’s in wins with 4 and ERA for starters at 2.92. Luis Severino is the leader in strikeouts with 38. Sears is 4-2 with a 1.00 WHIP and 32 strikeouts.
Best Bets for New York Yankees vs. Athletics
Full-Game Side Bet
Insiders Status:
New York has won five of the last six games head-to-head versus the Athletics, and the Yankees have won each of the last five played on the road versus the Athletics. As mentioned previously, New York is first in both on-base percentage and slugging percentage, while third and runs scored and 7th and batting average. New York starter Carlos Rodon has had four consecutive strong outings, giving up just two earned runs in 25.2 innings, while striking out 29 and walking 8. In Rodon’s last four outings, the Yankees beat Tampa Bay, Cleveland, and Baltimore, while losing to San Diego. Athletics’ starter JP Sears has also had four consecutive solid outings, giving up 17 hits and five runs in 23 innings. The Athletics beat Texas twice, Miami, and the Chicago White Sox during those four games and each of those three opponents are playing below .500. New York has baseball's best overall hitter thus far this season in Aaron Judge, who is leading baseball in batting average and hits, while tied for the lead in both home runs and runs batted in.
Full-Game Total Pick
Insiders Status:
The total has finished under in 10 of New York's last 14 games, in four of New York's last five games played on the road, and in eight of New York's last 11 games against a team from the American League. The total has also finished under in nine of the Athletics' last 12 games against a team from the AL East.
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