The Athletics host the Arizona Diamondbacks on August 1, 2025. First pitch from Sutter Health Park is scheduled for 10:05 p.m. EDT; the game will be broadcast on NBCS-CA.
Find my MLB betting preview and Diamondbacks vs Athletics prediction below, as well as probable pitchers, betting trends, injury reports and more.
My Diamondbacks vs Athletics Prediction
- Diamondbacks vs Athletics pick: First Five Innings Under 5.5 Runs (-135) | Play to Under 5 (-108)
My Diamondbacks vs Athletics best bet is on Under 5.5 Runs in the First Five Innings. Make sure to find the best odds by checking our live MLB odds page.
Diamondbacks vs Athletics Odds
| Diamondbacks Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+1.5 -190 | 9.5 -118o / -102u | +105 |
| Athletics Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-1.5 +155 | 9.5 -118o / -102u | -125 |
Diamondbacks vs Athletics Projected Starting Pitchers
| RHP Anthony DeSclafani (ARI) | Stat | LHP Jacob Lopez (ATH) |
|---|---|---|
| 1-1 | W-L | 3-6 |
| -0.2 | fWAR (FanGraphs) | 0.6 |
| 3.86/3.49 | ERA /xERA | 4.29/3.83 |
| 5.11/3.79 | FIP / xFIP | 4.52/4.37 |
| 1.07 | WHIP | 1.34 |
| 18.8% | K-BB% | 17.8% |
| 50.0% | GB% | 23.8% |
| 103 | Stuff+ | 91 |
| 98 | Location+ | 100 |
Kenny Ducey’s Diamondbacks vs Athletics Preview
Arizona Diamondbacks Betting Preview: Questions Over DeSclafani's Run
After shipping away a second big bat in Eugenio Suarez and a slugging outfielder in Randal Grichuk, the Arizona Diamondbacks will look to start anew on the first day after the trade deadline.
Just nine games out of a wild-card spot, there's certainly still a bit of life to be found here. Arizona is set to install rookie Tyler Locklear at first base, and with Merrill Kelly now off to Texas, it will presumably lean on Anthony DeSclafani to either start or work the bulk of the innings in this one.
The offense is anything but hot right now, running the lowest wRC+ in baseball over the last two weeks, but DeSclafani has looked up to the task so far after shaking off the rust in his first two outings off the injured list.
The right-hander finished with a 2.81 ERA in 16 innings last month, and while he's working primarily as a bulk reliever, the numbers in a small sample are quite good. It's helped him increase his strikeout rate to what would be a career-high 25%, and despite an uptick in ground balls, he's maintained a low .221 Expected Batting Average next to a middling .403 Expected Slugging.
It's still hard to get a read on DeSclafani after the veteran missed all of 2024 due to injury, and now at 35, there will certainly be eyeballs on this relatively handsome strikeout rate. Can DeSclafani continue to miss bats at this rate, at this age, or will he finally crumble after running through a collection of alarming offenses?
Athletics Betting Preview: Can Lopez Navigate the Pressure?
The Athletics, like the Diamondbacks, haven't announced a starter for this game — but all bets are on Jacob Lopez to take the ball.
Thursday was somewhat busy for the AL West basement-dwellers, as they shipped away a great bat in Miguel Andujar and their rock-solid closer, Mason Miller, receiving younger prospects in return. With Jacob Wilson, Denzel Clarke and Max Muncy still shelved with injury, this lineup looks a lot weaker than it has in the past after the top five in the order.
Even with that, the Athletics are running the fifth-best wRC+ in baseball over the last two weeks — but it could mostly be smoke. Nick Kurtz is the leading force behind this figure, and while Shea Langeliers has also hit well, that's about where the buck stops. Darell Hernaiz has hit well in this time, but he's had just seven plate appearances, and Andujar — who has hit .351 in the last 14 days in a large sample — is now gone.
As a result, we can reasonably expect the Athletics to begin slowing down at the plate — even in their friendly home park — which should put the pressure on Lopez.
The lefty has been a lot like DeSclafani in that he's pitched to a comfortable .219 xBA with plenty of issues in suppressing power, but the latter has come as a result of one of the largest fly ball rates in baseball.
The sample is still growing at just 65 innings, and Lopez has done a bang-up job in the strikeout department, but it's unlikely to aid him here given Arizona's tenacious pursuit of putting the ball back into play. Now that the majority of the Diamondbacks' power is gone, however, he could find a way to get his team into a winning position.
Diamondbacks vs Athletics Prediction, Betting Analysis
It's hard to get behind either of these offenses now that they've each shipped away multiple core members of the lineup. While the jury is still very much out on DeSclafani, it's going to be very difficult for the Athletics to hurt him here with three of their five best batsmen mired in a slump.
On the other side of the coin, Lopez has pitched well — and now that two of Arizona's big right-handed power bats are gone, this fly-ball and whiff machine should look a lot less volatile than he's appeared for the majority of the season.
I'm expecting both teams to come out flat at the plate here, and with both pitchers showing a bit of promise and pushing hard for a spot in the rotation, I'm inclined to believe in them.
Pick: First Five Innings Under 5.5 Runs (-135) | Play to Under 5 (-108)
Diamondbacks vs Athletics Betting Trends
