Oakland Athletics (39-62) vs Houston Astros (52-47)
Game Info: Tuesday, July 23, 2024 at 9:40 pm (Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum)
The Line: Betting Odds: Oakland Athletics +115 / Houston Astros -135 — Over/Under: 8.5
The Houston Astros and the Oakland A’s meet Tuesday in MLB action from the Oakland Coliseum. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Houston Astros vs Oakland Athletics Prediction.
Starting Pitching Matchup
The Houston Astros will send out Jake Bloss for the start here and Bloss is 0-0 with a 4.70 ERA and 6 strikeouts this season. This will be Bloss’ first career start against Oakland. The Oakland A’s will start Osvaldo Bido here and Bido is 1-1 with a 3.44 ERA and 16 strikeouts this season. This will be Bido’s first career start against the Astros.
Houston Astros Recap
The Houston Astros will be looking to rebound after starting the series on the wrong foot after a 4-0 loss to the A’s in Monday’s opener. The loss wasn’t the ideal start for the Astros who just took down the Mariners this past weekend in their three-game series.
Astros Looking To Pull Out Ahead In AL West
Entering Monday’s opener, Jose Altuve has 121 hits and a .304 batting average with 14 home runs, 44 RBIs and 18 doubles while Kyle Tucker has 19 homers with 11 doubles and 40 RBIs. Yordan Alvarez also has 20 homers with 54 RBIs and 22 doubles while Altuve has the Astros’ team lead with 15 stolen bases so far this season. Jeremy Pena also has 102 hits and a .274 batting average as well as 11 stolen bases of his own this season. Alex Bregman’s added 12 homers and 47 RBIs also.
Why the Houston Astros will win
- The Athletics have lost seven of their last eight games against the Astros following a win.
- The Astros have won six of their last seven night games following a loss.
- The Astros have covered the run line in eight of their last nine night games against American League opponents.
- The Athletics have failed to cover the run line in six of their last seven night games against the Astros following a home win.
Oakland A’s Recap
The Oakland A’s will try to keep the momentum going after ending up with the win in Monday’s series-opening matchup. The win was a good start for an Oakland team trying to build positive vibes after series wins over the Angels and Phillies surrounding the all-star break.
A’s Trying To Climb Out Of Last In Division
Brent Rooker leads the A’s with 67 RBIs along with 22 home runs this season while Abraham Toro has 72 hits and 24 RBIs. JJ Bleday has a team-high 28 doubles, 4 triples, 84 hits and 35 RBIs and Toro has a .256 batting average. Rooker also has the unfortunate title of leading strikeout bat with 114 K’s at the dish this season, alongside Zack Gelof, who has 112 strikeouts. Shea Langeliers has also chipped in 18 home runs and 52 RBIs.
Why the Oakland Athletics will win
- The underdogs have won four of the Astros’ last five games.
- The Astros have lost three of their last four games as favorites against AL West opponents.
- The Astros have failed to cover the run line in each of their last 10 Tuesday games as road favorites.
- The Athletics have covered the run line each of their last four night games against AL West opponents that held a winning record.
Houston Astros vs Oakland Athletics Prediction
I’m on the over in this one. I’m not trusting the matchup of Bloss vs. Bido and the A’s have actually been sneaky good against right-handed pitching in the month of July. On the other side, the Astros run to climb back into the division didn’t just happen, the Astros have been smoking hot offensively in a lot of their recent outings. All in all, I think this has potential to be an offensive matchup, so give me the over.