- What: MLB Regular Season Game
- When: Sunday, June 30
- Who: Oakland Athletics vs. Arizona Diamondbacks
- Time: 4:10 p.m. ET
- Where: Chase Field (Phoenix, AZ)
The Oakland A’s (30-55) will face off against the Arizona Diamondbacks (40-43) to wrap up their 3-game series on Sunday.
Arizona Diamondbacks
As July approaches, the Arizona Diamondbacks remain below .500. Meanwhile, the San Diego Padres have started hitting consistently, a shift from their previous pattern of inconsistency over the past year and a half.
In the last week and a half, the Padres have gone 9-1, raising their record to five games above .500 and showing signs of sustaining their momentum. If they continue this form, they could end the season with 15 to 20 games above .500, nearing 90 wins.
The Diamondbacks need to be wary of this because last year, despite their impressive October run to the World Series, they won only 84 regular-season games.
Game 84.
⌚️ 1:10pm
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????️ @ChaseField pic.twitter.com/fAy9YdHdZi— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) June 30, 2024
They benefited from the Padres’ and other National League teams’ underperformance, which allowed them to snag a postseason berth.
If the Padres maintain their improvement this year, 84 wins might not be enough for the Diamondbacks to make the playoffs.
Arizona is off pace for even 80 wins, so they must push hard before the All-Star break.
Their margin for error will shrink if they don’t have a stretch of 20 games where they win 13 to 15.
The Diamondbacks need to get hot and stay hot to have a chance at returning to the postseason and defending their National League pennant.
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics rank 20th in slugging percentage (.377), 27th in on-base percentage (.295), 28th in team batting average (.222), and 28th in runs scored (305).
Brent Rooker leads the team with 15 home runs and 47 RBIs, while Shea Langeliers also has 15 home runs and is second in RBIs with 41.
Sunday in the desert ☀️ pic.twitter.com/tbgYWzYfgC
— Oakland A's (@Athletics) June 30, 2024
Only three Oakland players have hit 10 or more home runs through 84 games. The team has 119 doubles, 11 triples, and 96 home runs, totaling 224 extra-base hits in 84 games.
In pitching, Oakland is 24th in ERA (4.39), 25th in WHIP (1.34), 27th in opponent batting average (.256), and 28th in Quality Starts (21).
JP Sears leads the team with 4 wins, and Mason Miller has the most strikeouts with 64. Luis Medina, who will start on the mound for Oakland on Sunday, has a record of 1-3 with a 5.25 ERA and 17 strikeouts this season.
Oakland has lost five of its last six games and has won just one of the last 12 road games.
Medina has struggled in three of his last four starts, allowing 15 runs and 24 hits over 18.1 innings, with Oakland losing three of those four games.
A’s-Dbacks Best Bet
Arizona’s starter, Brandon Pfaadt, has had his own struggles, giving up seven runs in 12.2 innings over his last two outings.
Still, overall, he has performed better than Medina this season with a 4.45 ERA and 1.18 WHIP compared to Medina’s 5.25 ERA and 1.54 WHIP.
The Diamondbacks are hitting significantly better than Oakland, ranking 9th in runs scored and 14th in slugging percentage, while Oakland is near the bottom, ranking 28th in runs scored and 20th in slugging percentage.
The Diamondbacks on the moneyline is the play in this one.
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