Discover Current Player Trends for D-Backs vs Athletics – Saturday August 02, 2025

Arizona Diamondbacks

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Athletics

The Oakland Athletics will host the Arizona Diamondbacks in an Interleague matchup on August 2, 2025, following a dominant 5-1 win by the Athletics over the D-Backs in their previous game. The Athletics, despite a disappointing record of 49-63 this season, have shown flashes of offensive prowess, ranking 7th in MLB. However, they sit in a challenging spot in the standings, with no real contention for a division title.

On the mound, J.T. Ginn is projected to start for Oakland. Ginn has been effective lately, boasting a solid 3.89 ERA and a Power Ranking placing him as the 53rd best starting pitcher out of approximately 350. His last outing was particularly impressive, tossing 6 innings without allowing an earned run, which could translate into a strong performance today. While he projects to allow 2.5 earned runs and 5 hits on average, his low walk rate of 5.5% may help him avoid trouble against a patient Diamondbacks offense that draws walks at the 5th highest rate in MLB.

Opposing him will be Zac Gallen, who has faced challenges this season, holding a 5.60 ERA and a 7-12 win-loss record. Although Gallen’s recent form has been less than stellar, his 4.05 xFIP suggests he has been somewhat unlucky. He projects to pitch 5.6 innings today while allowing 3.2 earned runs and 5.7 hits on average.

Both teams are underperforming relative to preseason expectations, with the Diamondbacks sitting at 51-59. They possess a strong offense, ranking 4th in MLB, which could exploit any weaknesses in Ginn’s game. The projections favor the Athletics, who have a high implied team total of 4.97 runs. With the Athletics’ recent victory and Ginn’s promising form, they may have the edge in this close matchup.

Arizona Diamondbacks Insights

• Zac Gallen – Over/Under 17.5 Pitching Outs (-125/-105)
  Zac Gallen has been granted a longer leash than the average pitcher this year, recording 4.1 more adjusted pitches-per-game than average.
  Explain: Pitchers with a longer leash are more likely to go deeper into games and record more outs.
• Ketel Marte – Over/Under 1.5 Total Bases (-110/-120)
  Ketel Marte has seen a significant improvement in his exit velocity in recent games; just compare his 95.2-mph average over the past 14 days to his seasonal 91.3-mph average.
  Explain: Hitting the ball hard increases the chances of either a home run or the ball landing in fair territory for a hit before a fielder can get to it.
• Arizona Diamondbacks hitters as a unit have been among the best in MLB this year (7th-) when it comes to their 89.7-mph average exit velocity.
  Explain: Hitting the ball hard increases the chances of either a home run or the ball landing in fair territory for a hit before a fielder can get to it.

Athletics Insights

• J.T. Ginn – Over/Under 4.5 Strikeouts (-115/-115)
  J.T. Ginn’s high utilization percentage of his fastball (54.9% this year) is likely weakening his results, since they are generally much less effective than breaking or off-speed pitches.
  Explain: Fastballs are the one easiest pitches to hit and generate few strikeouts, so pitchers who rely too heavily on them tend to be less effective than they otherwise would be.
• Nick Kurtz – Over/Under 1.5 Total Bases (-105/-125)
  Despite posting a .431 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Nicholas Kurtz has experienced some positive variance given the .084 difference between that mark and his estimated true talent wOBA of .347.
  Explain: Players that are overperforming should be expected to play worse going forward, which can create value on prop Unders if the lines are too heavily weighing the lucky, to-date overperformance.
• Lawrence Butler – Over/Under 1.5 Total Bases (+135/-170)
  In today’s game, Lawrence Butler is at a disadvantage facing the league’s 6th-deepest LF fences given that he hits his flyballs to the opposite field at a 36.7% rate (93rd percentile).
  Explain: This player’s skill set does not match up particularly well with the park he’s in today, which may lead to worse-than-usual performance.

Betting Trends

• Athletics – Over/Under 2.5 1st Five Innings (F5) Team Total (-105/-125)
  The Athletics have hit the 1st Five Innings (F5) Team Total Over in 46 of their last 80 games (+7.27 Units / 7% ROI)
• Arizona Diamondbacks – Over/Under 4.5 Team Total (-120/-110)
  The Arizona Diamondbacks have hit the Team Total Under in 26 of their last 41 away games (+8.95 Units / 18% ROI)
• Brent Rooker – Over/Under 0.5 Home Runs (+305/-440)
  Brent Rooker has hit the Home Runs Over in 4 of his last 10 games at home (+8.30 Units / 83% ROI)