Houston Astros at Oakland Athletics Series Preview and Odds
A's Have Crashed Back To Earth
After playing .500 baseball for much of the MLB season, the last two weeks have not been kind to the Oakland Athletics who unfortunately are starting to play like many people expected them to. Even with a series win over the Colorado Rockies this week.
The Athletics have gone 4-13 in their last 17 games, and the task doesn’t get easier as the Houston Astros come to town this weekend for a three-game series. The Astros vs Athletics MLB odds have Houston as -170 moneyline favorites and as even-money runline favorites at -1.5 runs. The total is 8.5 runs.
The Astros have cooled down a bit after a six-game winning streak got them back to respectability. They’ve dropped three of five, including a rough home series loss to the lowly Los Angeles Angels this week.
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Expert Pick: Subscribe below to get our Premium Insights!Still, Houston is finally playing more like the team that was predicted to compete for yet another AL West title and not like the team that started the year 7-19. As far as MLB picks go, you usually can’t choose wrong when backing the Astros.
Oakland’s series with Colorado was a wild back-and-forth affair, culminating in the Athletics scoring five runs in a crazy 11th inning on Thursday to win 10-9.
It was a big win for Oakland as Mark Kotsay’s club overcame star closer Mason Miller’s first real blowup of the season by pouncing on the really bad Rockies bullpen to secure their second series win of May.
Astros vs Athletics 
Day/Time:
Location: Oakland Coliseum; Oakland, California
Records: Astros (22-28)/A’s (21-31)
Astros Have Good Pitching Lined Up
A major reason for Houston’s severe underperformance this season has been the Astros’ starting rotation’s shocking ineffectiveness.
Houston starters have the fourth-worst ERA in baseball and are in the bottom-five of most major statistical categories and are somehow dead-last in WHIP and BB/9. Some of that is due to all the rotation injuries they’ve had to deal with as fill-ins like Spencer Arrighetti have really struggled.
But, the Astros vs Athletics MLB odds like Houston on Friday because they’ll have Justin Verlander — who has been strong since returning from shoulder soreness — going and the upstart Ronel Blanco on Sunday in his return from a sticky stuff suspension.
Granted, Arrighetti and his 7+ ERA will start on Saturday yet Houston has the decided edge in two of the three MLB games this weekend.
Verlander will face off with Oakland’s Ross Stripling who is allowing almost 12 hits per nine innings this year. That’s a real problem against an Astros lineup that is first in the Majors in batting average and fourth in on-base percentage.
Houston should be able to hit Stripling hard. Arrighetti will take on JP Sears, Oakland’s most-consistent starter, while Blanco matches up against the journeyman Aaron Brooks.
The MLB odds should favor Houston in all three games. While the Astros’ record still leaves a lot to be desired, the top of their lineup with Jose Altuve, Kyle Tucker, Yordan Álvarez and Alex Bregman is as formidable as ever.
Oakland Needs To Get An Early Lead
The way the Athletics have been able to win games this season is pretty simple: Hit a lot of home runs and rely on a surprisingly strong bullpen to hold leads.
The Astros vs Athletics MLB odds have a pretty high run total for this one despite Oakland being just 23rd in runs scored because the A’s hit a ton of home runs, the fourth-most in baseball.
You might not expect it looking at the Oakland roster but the longball is an enormous part of their offense.
Brent Rooker leads the way with 11 blasts, followed by Shea Langeliers with 10 and JJ Bleday with seven.
Seven different A’s players have four or more home runs which is pretty impressive considering how much roster turnover — due to MLB injuries and promotions/demotions — Oakland has had to deal with.
So, the home run ball could be an issue for a Houston rotation that has given up the fourth-most home runs per nine innings in MLB.
Oakland’s bullpen is also in the top-ten across the board statistically, led by Miller who has been a revelation at the back-end. He, Michael Kelly, Lucas Erceg and Austin Adams have all been really good but Miller has maybe been the best closer in baseball even with his rough outing on Thursday.
If the A’s were an MLB playoff team and he kept up his current pace, he could have been the rare reliever to garner at least a look in the MLB MVP race.
Astros Should Roll
With all that said, the Astros’ lineup should be able to feast on the Athletics’ weak rotation while guys like Verlander and Blanco should manage an Oakland lineup that has a hard time scoring when it isn’t hitting home runs.
That temporary setback against the Angels aside, Houston has played well for awhile now and this is the weekend that they can prove it by handling business against an inferior division opponent.
While the Astros at -170 isn’t great value, taking them at even-money to cover the 1.5-run runline is.
The 8.5 run total is a bit hit but with Houston’s offensive ability and Oakland’s propensity to leave the yard, the over at -105 is also a smart take.
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