The MLB is back! There’s just something about the first few weeks of baseball season that seems magical — the emerald-green grass, the chatter from the bleachers before the crack of a bat and the way the crowd builds into a collective cheer or sigh depending on the trajectory of that stitched, leather-bound sphere.
On Saturday, the New York Yankees close out their first series of the season against the San Francisco Giants. The Bronx Bombers have to be feeling pretty good after taking the first two games of the year, but the home side probably doesn’t feel the same way given some of the issues in this opening set. Will New York complete the sweep, or will the San Francisco salvage it with a win today?
Here’s a betting prediction and pick for this Yankees vs. Giants matchup courtesy of MLB odds and lines on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Yankees vs. Giants prediction, preview
The Yankees fell short in the World Series last year following a 94-68 regular season. They had a busy offseason in which maintaining the core was a clear priority, bringing back Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham while also signing Paul Goldschmidt as another upside bat. Now, they’re already off to a hot start after taking the first two games of this series on the road. New York has 18 hits and 10 runs across its two matchups, which it won 7-0 and 3-0. The most notable part of that equation is that the Yanks have shut out the Giants in back-to-back games, but early signs also show a healthy Giancarlo Stanton with four hits in his first eight at-bats. Aaron Judge is yet to get going at just 1-for-9, but obviously, it’s very early.
On the opposite side, the Giants went an even 81-81 in 2025 during a campaign that was headlined by the acquisition of Rafael Devers via blockbuster trade. Now, the focus is on getting to the postseason for the first time since 2021. They added Harrison Bader and Luis Arraez to the lineup and signed Adrian Houser to bolster the rotation as well. Those are some quality moves, but the first two games of the season have been pretty pitiful. San Francisco has just four hits across the pair of contests, and the 19 strikeouts at the plate aren’t a great sign either. There haven’t been a ton of chances behind the dish yet, but it may take some time for this batting order to work itself into form.
New York will start RHP Will Warren today, who recorded a 4.44 ERA and 1.37 WHIP in his first full campaign in the majors last season. Over 162.1 innings, he struck out 171 batters but did have his fair share of struggles while allowing a seventh-percentile average exit velocity and 14th-percentile hard-hit percentage.
San Francisco sends RHP Tyler Mahle to the mound. The nine-year veteran saw action in 16 games last season with a fantastic 2.18 ERA and 1.13 WHIP, though he struck out just 66 hitters across 86.2 innings. He did largely keep hard contact to a minimum and forced plenty of flyouts in the process, though his pitch mix saw him use a four-seam fastball or splitter a staggering 78% of the time.
Yankees vs. Giants pick, best bet
On DraftKings Sportsbook, the Yankees are -131 road favorites on the Moneyline. The Giants hold +109 odds to win outright at home. The combined run total sits at 8.5 for this contest.
Best Bet: Under 8.5 runs (-110)
San Francisco is in quite the funk to begin the new year and their pitcher put up some really good numbers when healthy last season, so I like the under in this game. It’s possible Mahle can limit this New York offense well, and I’m really not super worried about the Giants shelling Warren. After the first game ended 7-0 and the second finished 3-0, we’re 2-for-2 on the under in this series now and the stars are aligning for a perfect 3-for-3 showing.
Strong Lean: NY Yankees over 7.5 strikeouts thrown (-110)
The Giants have struck out 19 times in their first two games and are disjointed at the plate. Warren isn’t the greatest strikeout pitcher by any means, but he’s not necessarily a bad one either with a 24.1 K% last season and a nice mix of offspeed and breaking stuff. Between he and the bullpen, I do believe they get the better of San Francisco once again to close out the series.
