Oakland Athletics @ New York Yankees - June 28, 2025

As the fans settle into their seats at Yankee Stadium, anticipation fills the air for what promises to be an intriguing matchup between the New York Yankees and the Oakland Athletics. The Yankees, boasting a record of 47-34, come into this game as significant favorites against a struggling Athletics team that sits at 33-51.

On the mound for the Athletics will be JP Sears, who has had a challenging season with a win-loss record of 5-7 and an ERA hovering around 5.6. While he has shown flashes of potential with nearly 8 strikeouts per nine innings, his inconsistency could pose problems against a potent Yankees lineup. Conversely, Clarke Schmidt takes the hill for New York with a solid record of 4-3 and an impressive ERA of approximately 3.6. His ability to limit runs makes him a formidable opponent for any batting order.

The oddsmakers have opened this game with the Yankees as -263 moneyline favorites, reflecting not only their strong performance but also their recent form – they’ve won four out of their last six games while covering the spread in four of those contests as well. In contrast, the Athletics have struggled mightily lately; they are just 1-5 straight up in their last six games and have failed to cover in five of those matchups.

When we look at offensive production, it’s evident that both teams are relatively close in terms of hits per game (Yankees averaging about 8.7 vs. Athletics’ near 8.6), but there is a noticeable gap in run production where New York averages over 5 runs per game compared to Oakland’s approximate total of just over 4 runs per game. This discrepancy can largely be attributed to on-base efficiency; while both teams hover around similar batting averages (.249 for NYY vs .246 for OAK), the Yankees boast an impressive on-base slugging percentage nearing 77%, which significantly outpaces Oakland’s roughly 71%.

Given these statistics and trends leading up to this matchup, I predict that tonight’s contest will favor New York decisively. With Clarke Schmidt on the mound limiting scoring opportunities and facing off against JP Sears—who has struggled more often than not—the odds seem stacked heavily in favor of the home team.

Furthermore, considering both teams’ recent tendencies toward low-scoring affairs (the total has gone UNDER in five consecutive games for New York), I anticipate that tonight’s outcome may surprise some by exceeding expectations on offense despite initial predictions leaning towards lower totals.

In summary, expect to see a dominant performance from the Yankees propelled by solid pitching from Schmidt coupled with effective hitting throughout their lineup—a combination likely leading them to victory over Oakland while possibly pushing past that initial total set at nine runs. As always with baseball though—anything can happen—but based on data-driven insights, I’m confident in my prediction here tonight!