Houston Astros vs Oakland Athletics Prediction, Pick and Preview, September 18 (9/18): MLB

Houston Astros vs Oakland Athletics Prediction, Pick and Preview, September 18 (9/18): MLB

 

Odds

Time 2:10 p.m. EST
Athletics money line +270
Athletics run line +1.5 (+130)
Astros money line -345
Astros run line -1.5 (-150)
Over / under 7.5

 

Key stats

  Oakland Athletics  Houston Astros
Record 53-93 95-51
Home / road record 30-44 49-23
Last 10 record 3-7 8-2
Streak W1 L1
Over / under record 65-73-8 53-83-10
Runs / game 3.38 4.52
Runs allowed / game 4.74 3.25

 

Preview

The Houston Astros and the Oakland Athletics will play the 4th game of the series at the Minute Maid Park on Sunday. The A's upset the Astros 8-5 in the third games of the series.  Seth Brown homered and drove in four runs, Cole Irvin overcame a rocky start.

 

Oakland Athletics

The Athletics get here with a 53-93 record and have lost 3 of their last 5 games. The team is averaging 3.38 runs per game. They're batting for .215 AVG, 493 runs scored in 1011 hits and 120 home runs, ranking #29 in offense, the second worst in the MLB behind the Pittsburgh Pirates. Sean Murphy is batting for .251 AVG. Seth Brown leads the team with 58 RBI and 22 home runs.

Defensively are allowing 4.74 runs per game, ranking #23 in the league. Cole Irvin leads the team with a 3.73 ERA, 113 strikeouts and 8 wins recorded with the A's.

Probable Pitcher:  Ken Waldichuk (0-1, 5.40 ERA)

Waldichuk will be on the mound in the 4th game of the series for the Athletics. Waldichuk allowed five runs on eight hits and a walk with six strikeouts in five innings in a no-decision versus the Rangers on Tuesday.

Houston Astros

The Astros get here with a 95-51 record and have won 6 of their last 7 games. They're averaging 4.52 runs and batting for .246 AVG, 645 runs scored in 1168 hits and 186 home runs, ranking #9 in offense in the league behind the Boston Red Sox. Yordan Alvarez leads the team batting for .303 avg with 33 home runs and 84 RBI. 

Defensively they are allowing 3.25 runs per game and ranking #2 in the league. Justin Verlander leads the pitching staff with a 1.84 ERA, 154 strikeouts and 16 wins recorded for the Astros.

Probable Pitcher: Framber Valdez (15-5, 2.55 ERA)

Valdez will be on the mound in the 4th game of the series for the Astros. Valdez allowed six hits and a walk during a complete-game shutout Monday, striking out eight and earning a win over Detroit. He is 1-3 with an ERA of 3.15 and 38 strikeouts in 8 appearances against the Athletics in his career.

 

BETTING TRENDS

Oakland are 1-5 SU in their last 6 games against Houston.

Oakland are 3-7 SU in their last 10 games on the road.

Oakland are 1-5 SU in their last 6 games when playing on the road against Houston.

The total has gone UNDER in 13 of Houston's last 20 games.

Houston are 6-1 SU in their last 7 games.

The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Houston's last 12 games at home.

 

Prediction

The Athletics are already eliminated and have lost 10 of their last 13 games while the Astros already clinched the playoffs. Framber Valdez will start for the Astros who has been solid this season and pitched 9 scoreless innings in his last start and has dominated the A's in his career. Ken Waldichuk will start for the Athletics who has only 3 starts this season and the A's have lost in all of them. Expect another strong performance from Valdez and the Astros to get an easy win on Sunday.

PICK: Astros -1.5 (-150)

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