Athletics vs. Astros Pick
Will the Houston Astros have any trouble at home when they play host to the Oakland Athletics tonight at 8:10PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, the Astros are favored at home tonight, as they are getting odds of -165 to win. The Athletics are listed with a money line of +150 to prevail. The over/under total for the contest is listed at 9 runs. Houston has won eight of nine meetings with the Athletics this season.
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The pitching matchup tonight has Mike Fiers (5-2, 3.81 ERA) on the mound for the Astros to face Sean Manaea (6-4, 4.05) of the Athletics. Fiers has been great for Houston for a while, allowing just six earned runs over his last five starts, a total of 31.1 innings. On the year Fiers has 67 strikeouts with 28 walks and a 1.33 WHIP. Manaea has been pretty good this season as well, but he has allowed eight earned runs over his last two starts, including five against the Astros last week. He has 81 strikeouts with 28 walks and a 1.15 WHIP this season.
After a bit of a dip, Houston has gotten back on track with six wins in its last seven games, including a four-game sweep of the A’s in Oakland. Houston is now 52-25 overall and 23-16 at home. The Astros are putting up 5.51 runs per game while allowing 3.96. Houston is led by George Springer, who has 22 home runs with 47 RBI. Jose Altuve is adding 21 doubles, 11 homers, 36 RBI and 12 stolen bases while hitting .318.
Oakland bounced back from the sweep by Houston with a three-game sweep of its own over the White Sox in Chicago this past weekend. The Athletics are now 34-42 overall and 12-25 on the road. Oakland is averaging 4.36 runs per game while allowing 5.30. The Athletics are being led by a powerful trio of Yonder Alonso, Ryon Healy and Khris Davis. Alonso and Healy each have 17 homers while Davis has 19. The trio have combined for 132 RBI.
Houston has owned Oakland this season and I don’t think that will change today. Fiers already won this exact same matchup in Oakland last week, 5-1. The Astros are 5-1 in his last six starts and he has won his last four decisions. Manaea may keep this game competitive, but Fiers should lead his team to a win while his lineup grinds out some runs early.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: HOUSTON ASTROS -165