Can The Athletics Get Above .500 By Sunday?

Heading into the season, the Oakland Athletics were expected to be the worst team in the MLB. But that’s no longer the case. The Athletics are currently 15-17 and putting together a somewhat enjoyable season. Meanwhile, they’ll take on the Miami Marlins, who are coming into this series without ten wins on the year.

The Marlins made the playoffs last season but won’t have a chance at another playoff appearance this season. They’ll sell at the trade deadline, while the Athletics could stand pat despite their intentions of having a lower payroll. Miami has had many injuries, especially at start pitching, that have ultimately derailed the season. But it’s no excuse for an offense that has been miserable to watch all year.

The Marlins should get Braxton Garrett back in the rotation by next week. But he just made a rehab start in the minor leagues last night and won’t be available to pitch in this series.

With Oakland at home, the Athletics are -135 on the moneyline, while the total is currently at eight with the under juiced to -118.

Let’s break down the Marlins vs Athletics odds for the weekend-long series.

Reinforcements Coming Soon!

The Marlins assigned power slugger Jake Burger to an injury rehab assignment in Jacksonville. Meanwhile, Braxton Garrett also concluded his injury rehab assignment with Jacksonville last night after throwing five innings without allowing a run.

Garrett struck out three and walked three but only gave up one hit in five innings. After that start, he’ll be ready to join the Marlins’ rotation now.

Third In The AL West

The Oakland Athletics are 15-17 on the season. They’re just 2.5 games out of the AL West and ahead of the Houston Astros, Los Angeles Angels, and Tampa Bay Rays while being tied with the Toronto Blue Jays in win percentage. It’s unlikely the Athletics can sustain this success. But it’s impressive nonetheless when looking at the MLB scores standings.

Marlins vs Athletics Odds For Game 1:

RL: ML: Athletics -130, O/U 7.5 -120/+100

We’ve got a lefty-lefty battle in the first game of this MLB series.

It’ll be Ryan Weathers for the Marlins, who has struggled badly against righties to begin the season. Weathers has allowed a .209 ISO and wOBA of 391 to his first 100 righties. He’s also struck out 16% of batters and has allowed 10% of walks to righties this year.

This was an issue for Weathers last season. Righties hit a .228 ISO and wOBA of .400 against him, with only 14.5% of strikeouts in 193 plate appearances.

The Athletics have righties like Brent Rooker and Esteury Ruiz, who have ultimately hit lefties with solid power. Even Tyler Nevin and Abraham Toro have done well against lefties. Oakland can put together a quality lineup against Weathers.

On the other hand, it’ll be JP Sears of the Athletics. Sears is a lefty who has ultimately struggled more against righties this season. Sears has only struck out 13.1% of righties and has allowed 36.5% of fly balls with 29.7% of ground balls induced. That’s not ideal. The lefty has allowed 10.1% of walks to righties and a .198 ISO.

It’s unclear if Jake Burger will return on Friday or wait until after the weekend. Ultimately, he’s one of the few bats that hit lefties well in the Marlins lineup. Still, with or without Burger, the Miami lineup has been inconsistent and subpar.

We’d back Oakland in Game 1 of this series on the moneyline at -130. Consider adding them to your MLB picks and parlays.

The Marlins will stick with the lefties. Trevor Rogers will likely get the call in Game 2 of this series. He’s another lefty who has performed way better than Weathers. Rogers has only struck out 15.4% of righties as a lefty, but he’s limited walks to 7.7%  and has allowed a .149 ISO to righties.

While Rogers has also allowed a .212 ISO and wOBA of .331 to 36 lefties, he’s struck lefties out more than 30% of the time.

Again, the Athletics have a handful of batters that can do damage against lefties.

Oakland will pitch Paul Blackburn, who has easily been the ace of the staff so far. The righty has a 3.34 ERA to begin the season and has held opponents to a .145 ISO and wOBA of .282 with more than 50% of grounders.

Blackburn won’t add a high rate of strikeouts against righties, but he’s limited fly balls to under 20% and has been good overall.

Against righties, the Marlins have a little more potential with Bryan De La Cruz, Jazz Chisholm, and Jesus Sanchez. Jake Burger would be another solid bat if he’s back for this series. That said, the Marlins’ projected lineup without Burger has hit a .131 ISO and wOBA of .293 against righties since last season. That won’t get the job done.

We’d back Oakland in the second game of the series as well when the baseball odds come out.

In the finale, the Marlins will use Sixto Sanchez. Sanchez has allowed a .250 ISO and wOBA of .564 to his first 23 lefties. He’s also tallied just 13.6% of strikeouts this season. Although Sanchez has been much better against righties, Oakland figures to have more lefties in the lineup for this game.

Quality lefties include J.J. Bleday, Lawrence Butler, Abraham Toro (switch hitter), Seth Brown, and Kyle McCann. Even Ryan Noda has some potential as a left-handed hitter with high walks against righties.

That said, Oakland will pitch Joe Boyle. He is a righty with a 6.08 ERA this year. However, his analytics look better than that. Boyle has held teams to a .112 ISO after facing 122 batters this season. He’s also struck out 23% of batters, which is slightly above average. His stats will likely improve against an incompetent Marlins batting lineup.

Again, the Athletics match up better in Game 3. Oakland could potentially sweep the Marlins and get over .500. That would be insane, but it would be analytically possible after reviewing the Marlins vs Athletics odds for this interleague series.

For MLB betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.

Can’t get enough? Here’s more!

• Put Your Wagers On The Visiting Nationals in Texas
• The Battle for The Worst Team in The MLB Begins Tonight
• Giants Look to Keep Pace as They Visit Boston
• Carroll’s Slow Start, Pitching Injuries Concerning for D’Backs
• Go Against Reds vs Padres Odds, Bet San Diego