When they move to Las Vegas at the start of the 2028, the Athletics will set up a regional rivalry with the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are currently the MLB’s lone team in the desert Southwest. Until possible expansion and division realignment, fans will have to settle for this as an occasional interleague battle.
The Athletics won the first game of the teams’ three-game set in Arizona last night, and the middle game is scheduled for tonight at 9:40 p.m. ET.
Jack Perkins will take the mound for the Athletics, while the Diamondbacks will counter with Kohl Drake.
Let’s break down this clash with some odds and lines at DraftKings Sportsbook.
Athletics at Arizona Diamondbacks Best Bets
- Athletics Moneyline (+114): This is a matchup between a pitcher with an established mediocre track record and a complete unknown quantity, but Perkins has shown more in his MLB stints than Drake has shown in the minors.
- Over 9.5 (-104): Any battle between a pitcher with an 8.19 ERA since the start of June in the majors and one with a 6.92 ERA at the Triple-A level should be expected to be high-scoring, especially at baseball’s second-most hitter-friendly park.
Athletics at Arizona Diamondbacks prediction, preview
After the Athletics finished 35-29 after the All-Star break last season, they were seen by some as a potential team on the rise, but so far, 2026 has been a disappointment. They lost 14 of their last 15 games prior to the All-Star break, dropping from an 46.3% chance to make the playoffs on June 14 to just a 1.0% chance today. The Athletics have still been decent offensively, ranking 13th in OPS thanks to their star trio of Nick Kurtz, Shea Langeliers, and Tyler Soderstrom, but over the last 30 days, they’ve fallen to 25th in that stat, and Kurtz is currently on the injured list. Additionally, they’ve had baseball’s worst bullpen, as none of their pitchers has better than a 3.30 ERA, and only the Colorado Rockies and Houston Astros have had a more futile rotation. Jeffrey Springs, their “ace” last season, leads all of baseball in losses and home runs. They’re likely to be sellers at the trade deadline, with even Langeliers potentially on the market.
Meanwhile, Arizona is in a decent position to break its two-season playoff drought and return to the postseason for the first time since shockingly winning the NL pennant in 2023. The Diamondbacks swept the Los Angeles Dodgers right before the All-Star break, and per FanGraphs, they have a 25.3% chance of making up their 0.5-game deficit on the St. Louis Cardinals, Miami Marlins, and Pittsburgh Pirates to claim the NL’s final Wild Card spot. Arizona has been semi-competitive despite not having a top-five lineup as it has in recent seasons, as it ranks just 25th in OPS amid Ketel Marte’s and Geraldo Perdomo’s relative struggles. The Diamondbacks’ pitching has been better in 2026 than it was in other recent seasons, as their rotation ranks 16th in ERA behind a strong campaign from Eduardo Rodríguez and their bullpen has been the 13th-best. They could use some help in the back end of their rotation, but all they really need to make a playoff push is some offensive regression to the mean.
Perkins began the season in the Athletics’ bullpen after starting four games as a rookie in 2025, but he re-joined the rotation at the start of June and has pitched to an 8.19 ERA across six starts and one long relief appearance since. He’s given up at least two earned runs in all seven of his bulk appearances and conceded at least three in all but one. Still, advanced numbers suggest that he’s gotten fairly unfortunate; he ranks in the 43rd percentile in expected ERA and the 53rd percentile in expected batting average. Perkins has his strengths, including top-third chase, whiff, and strikeout rates that should come in handy against one of the best contact teams in baseball. His Stuff+, Location+, and Pitching+ metrics are all at or above the league median as well, and while he’s struggled to induce ground balls, Arizona has hit grounders at the league’s 12th-highest rate. It doesn’t help that the Athletics have been one of the league’s worst fielding teams, but at least he’s been slightly less atrocious on the road. While the Diamondbacks have been better at home, they’ve been much worse against righties, so it wouldn’t be a massive shock for Perkins to give up three or fewer earned runs.
Despite his mediocrity, Perkins might still have the advantage in the starting pitching matchup over Drake, who’s set to make his MLB debut. The left-hander has been poor for Triple-A Reno this season, pitching to a 6.92 ERA. To be fair, Drake did end his Triple-A stint on a relative high, pitching five innings of shutout ball against the Tacoma Rainiers on July 3 and picking up another win back in Reno against the Round Rock Express six days later. He’s had elite strikeout stuff in the minors, averaging more than 10 strikeouts per nine innings in 2023, 2024, and 2025, and that could play well against the Athletics, who have fanned at among the highest rates this season. However, Drake has had issues with walks, as his 4.2 walks per nine innings for the Aces would rank third-to-last among qualified pitchers this season, and the Athletics have been fairly good at drawing free passes. Though it doesn’t translate directly given the difference in levels and Reno’s relatively high altitude (4,505 feet, some 3,000 feet higher than Phoenix), Drake has also been even worse at home. He could be saved both by his elite defense and by the fact that the Athletics have been baseball’s second-worst road offense this season, but overall, my expectations aren’t high.
Athletics at Arizona Diamondbacks pick, best bet
Best Bet: Athletics Moneyline (+114)
For his mediocre MLB track record, Perkins at least has provided some reasons for optimism, and it’s possible that his luck could normalize at some point. Drake hasn’t proven anything in the minors, save for the 2024 season, in which he pitched to a 2.29 ERA between Single-A, High A, and Double-A.
Strong Lean: Over 9.5 (-104)
Even though the Athletics’ offense hasn’t been effective on the road, Chase Field is baseball’s second-most hitter-friendly venue, and Drake should provide them with plenty of hittable pitches. On the other end, Arizona should be able to get to Perkins too, especially given how bad the Athletics have been in the field.
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