Charlie Cummings previews Thursday’s MLB matchup between the Athletics and the New York Yankees and provides his best pick.

This has been an exciting series between the two rivals of old. In two games, each team has had a bullpen choke job in the final innings. First, the Yankees walked off the A’s to start the series, before the A’s broke a 2-2 tie in the ninth inning on Wednesday. Which team will take home the series and smile all the way to the plane?

First pitch is set for 1:35 p.m. ET. The Yankees are -219 moneyline favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook. An Athletics win is priced at +179. The game total is set at O/U eight runs.

Let’s get into a pick and prediction for this Athletics-Yankees game.

Athletics vs. Yankees Preview

First things first, let’s get to know these starting pitchers.

On the mound for the A’s is the dependable veteran Jeffrey Springs. He provided a solid 4.11 ERA over 170 innings last year, his first season as an Athletic. Though a bit of a soft-tosser, he does a great job at missing barrels and keeping the big innings off the board. So far, so good in 2026; the wily lefty has a 2.38 ERA through his first two starts.

Opposite him is another left-hander. Ryan Weathers was one of the top offseason acquisitions for the Yankees, and brings another live arm to their deep pitching staff. He’s being asked to fill in on the staff as they push through injuries, while making a case to stay there once Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon are healthy. When Weathers is shoving, you’ll see his big fastball and power sinker 64% of the time. His off-speed and breaking stuff is a work in progress, but there is time yet for him to sort it out.

The gap in these lineups is colossal. Aaron Judge is still the best hitter in the sport, and has plenty of support coming from Cody Bellinger, Ben Rice, Giancarlo Stanton, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. It’s strong top-to-bottom and filled with high-end talent you can’t find just anywhere. The A’s also have that top-end talent; Shea Langeliers, Nick Kurtz, and Brent Rooker are some of the best power bats in the game. But they tend to live and die by their top bats. With Kurtz and Rooker off to slow starts, the A’s are stumbling out of the gate. Those three have to be swinging a hot bat, or else they don’t stand much of a chance.

As we’ve seen already, both teams bring shaky bullpens to the table. The A’s just don’t have much talent to begin with, and the Yankees are trying to figure out who can settle into the big roles in the ‘pen. Whoever can keep it together after the starters exit has a big advantage here.

Now that we know these teams a bit better, who is going to take this one home?

Athletics vs. Yankees Pick, Best Bet

Weathers is going to show his stuff soon, and this is the exact lineup for him to show off against. If he keeps Langeliers contained, this could be a tremendous outing. Springs’ barrel-avoidance skills won’t play as well against Judge and Stanton, who can get barrel to whatever pitch they want. This is going to be quite the afternoon for the Yankees to take the series.

Best Bet: Yankees Run Line -1.5 (+102)