Astros vs. Athletics Pick
Can the Houston Astros complete a four-game sweep of the Oakland Athletics when the two cap off their series today at 3:35PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, the Astros are favored on the road, as they are getting odds of -145 to win, while the Athletics are listed with a money line of +125 to prevail. The over/under total for the game has been set at 9.5 runs.
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The pitching matchup in this game has David Paulino (1-0, 5.03 ERA) pitching for Houston to face Jesse Hahn (3-4, 3.56) of the Athletics. Paulino is making his fifth start. He has allowed 11 earned runs over 19.2 innings and has 20 strikeouts with five walks on the year. His WHIP is 1.37. Hahn has been pretty good in recent starts, allowing just five runs over his last three outings. He has 54 strikeouts and 24 walks this season and a WHIP of 1.32.
Houston has won the first three games in this series by a combined score of 17-6. The Astros have now won seven of eight meetings with Oakland this season. Houston is 49-24 overall and 26-8 on the road while Oakland is 31-41 overall and 22-16 at home.
Wednesday saw Houston pick up a 5-1 win, scoring all five runs in the latter half of the game. Mike Fiers got his fifth win by pitching six innings and allowing just one run. The bullpen pitched three innings of 1-hit ball. Sean Manaea took the loss to fall to 6-4. He went six innings and allowed three runs on seven hits. Evan Gattis and Jake Marisnick each drove in two runs to lead the Astros while Carlos Correa also had a solo home run. Oakland’s lone run came from Stephen Vogt.
Houston is the better team and has had Oakland’s number all season. I don’t think that should change today. Paulino may not have great numbers, but Houston can turn to its trusty bullpen if needed. Hahn has been impressive in recent starts, but is facing a very good lineup. Oakland hasn’t been able to consistently score in this series and I don’t see Hahn getting a shutout.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: HOUSTON ASTROS -145