Wednesday's matchup between the Astros and Athletics has a first pitch set for 3:37 PM ET from Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, CA. The Astros are currently 1st in the AL West with a record of 52-49, while the Athletics are 5th in the division at 41-62. Houston is the favorite on the money line today, and the over/under line is sitting at 8.5 runs.
JP Sears is starting for the Athletics, and he will be facing off against Hunter Brown and the Astros. Brown has a 3.60 ERA in his limited MLB action this season. Sears will be looking to help the Athletics extend their two-game winning streak.
Houston vs. Oakland Matchup At A Glance
- Teams: Astros at Athletics
- Where: Oakland Coliseum Oakland
- Date: Wednesday, July 24th
- Betting Odds HOU -158 | OAK +135 O/U 8.5
Astros vs Athletics Last Game Recap
Thanks to a five-run 4th inning for the A's, they cruised to an easy 8-2 win over the Astros in the most recent game of this series. Heading into the game, the A's were at +117 on the money line.
Oakland got to Astros starter Jake Bloss, who gave up five earned runs in just four innings of work and took the loss. As for the A's, they got a good outing from Osvaldo Bido, who gave up just one earned run across five innings of work and got the win.
At the plate, the A's were led by Lawrence Butler, who went 3/4 with a home run and two RBIs. Seth Brown and Brent Rooker each drove in two for Oakland's offense.
Astros Preview
With a 52-49 overall record, the Astros are tied with the Mariners for the AL West division lead. They have lost the first two games of this series vs. the Athletics and are on a three-game losing streak.
This season, the Astros have a run line record of 18-10 as the underdog and 34-39 as the favorite. Their games have had an average of 8.9 runs per game, and their over/under record is 40-57. The over has hit in 11 out of 29 games with an O/U line of 8.5 runs or lower.
Hunter Brown gets the start for the Astros today as he faces the Athletics on the road. So far this season, he has made 19 starts and has a record of 8-6 to go along with an ERA of 4.14. Brown's WHIP for the season is currently 1.36, and opponents are batting .243 off him this year. In his 19 starts, Brown has turned in 11 quality starts. Looking back at his last outing, Brown didn't allow a run, picking up the win in six innings of work. Before that, he had given up at least two earned runs in four straight starts.
Yordan Alvarez has been the Astros' top power threat this season, as his 20 homers are the best on the team and 10th in the league. He is also batting a strong .304, and his 54 RBIs are the best on the team. Kyle Tucker is right behind Alvarez in homers, with 19, and is also batting a solid .266. Tucker has also been patient at the plate, as he has the best OBP on the team at .395.
As a team, the Astros are averaging 4.7 runs per game, which is 11th in the league. They have been even better at home, averaging 5.1 runs per contest. Houston comes into the game with the league's best team batting average and are also one of the league's best teams at avoiding strikeouts.
Athletics Preview
Currently, the Athletics are on a roll, having won seven of their last ten games, including two straight. They are in 5th place in the AL West with a 41-62 record, 12 games behind the Astros. As underdogs, the A's have a 32-59 record this season, but they have won three straight games when playing as underdogs.
For the season, the Athletics have a 53-50 run line record, and their games have averaged 8.9 runs per game. The over/under record for games with an 8.5 run total is 10-17, and 21.4% of their games have had totals of 8.5 runs or higher.
Left-hander JP Sears gets the start for the Athletics today as he faces the Astros at home. Sears has made 20 starts this season and has a record of 7-7 with a 4.49 ERA. So far, he has pitched much better at home, coming in with a record of 5-3 and an 8.96 ERA. On the road, his ERA is 4.67. Sears has won each of his last three starts, most recently giving up two earned runs in 5 2/3 innings of work vs. the Angels. In that outing, he gave up two homers. Sears has a total of 16 homers this season.
As a team, the Athletics are batting just .231 this season, which is 21st in the league. However, they do have the 4th most home runs in the league and are 6th in terms of isolated power. Overall, they are averaging 4.2 runs per game, which is 21st in the MLB. At home, they are averaging 4.7 runs per game, which is 9th best in the league.
Over the team's last 10 games, Brent Rooker has been on fire, going 13/36 with five homers and 14 RBIs. This has moved his season average up to .291, and his 23 homers is the best mark on the team and 7th best in the league. Lawrence Butler has also been swinging a hot bat of late, going 18/36 with five homers and 17 RBIs. His 53 RBIs for the season is 2nd on the team.
Astros vs. Athletics Prediction: Athletics ML +135
With the Athletics being the underdog at +135, we see this as a great value pick. Our predicted final score is 6-5 in favor of the Athletics, and with the money line payout, this is the route we recommend going.
Looking at the starting pitchers, we have Hunter Brown finishing with six strikeouts compared to JP Sears with five. However, Sears has a better projected ERA, and we have him finishing with a 4.33 ERA compared to Brown at 4.56.
