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Houston Astros at Oakland Athletics odds, picks and prediction

The Houston Astros (91-62) and Oakland Athletics (82-71) open a three-game AL West series Friday at 9:40 p.m. ET at Oakland Coliseum. Let’s analyze the lines around the Astros vs. Athletics odds with MLB picks and predictions.

RHP Zack Greinke is the scheduled starter for the Astros. He is 11-6 with a 4.11 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 6.2 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 through 168 2/3 IP over 29 starts.

  • Has benefited from allowing a mere .264 batting average on balls in play.
  • Has fallen off in his last three starts against iffy offensive clubs. In back-to-back starts against the Texas Rangers and a third against the Arizona Diamondbacks the veteran hurler owns a 12.46 ERA and 1.92 WHIP.

RHP Frankie Montas is the scheduled starter for the Athletics. He is 12-9 with a 3.57 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 9.9 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 through 174 IP over 30 starts.

  • Coming off 7 shutout innings in which he allowed just 1 hit against the Los Angeles Angels. Owns a 1.89 ERA over his last six starts and that stretch includes turns against the Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants.
  • Owns a 3.31 ERA at Oakland Coliseum since 2019. Owns a 1.64 ERA over his last 33 IP at home.

Astros at Athletics odds, lines, picks and prediction

MLB odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated at 11:25 a.m. ET.

  • Money line: Astros +102 (bet $100 to win $102) | Athletics -125 (bet $125 to win $100)
  • Against the spread/ATS: Astros +1.5 (-205) | Athletics -1.5 (+165)
  • Over/Under: 7.5 (O: -125 | U: +100)

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Prediction

Astros 4, Athletics 3

Money line (ML)

Houston opened its current road trip by winning three of four games against the Angels. The Astros are 12-5 over their last 17 games, and they won eight of those games by 4 or more runs. Over that same 17-game span, Houston has slashed its way to a .295/.371/.512 (.883 OPS) line.

The Athletics are coming off a dreadful home series against the Seattle Mariners. Oakland lost four straight to the Mariners and is just 9-12 over 21 games this month.

The Astros have outscored the A’s 81-46 in the season series and have won nine of 13 games along the way.

There are crisscrossing signals in looking at Friday’s starters. It sets up middling the money line and run line with partial-unit plays: BACK THE ASTROS (+102).

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Run line/Against the spread (ATS)

TAKE THE ATHLETICS +1.5 (-210) on a play half the size of the ML wager on the alternate line. We’re shooting for a low-scoring one-run win for the Astros.

This doesn’t come up often at all. Oakland has played in a lot of close games of late. Leave a gigantic chunk of your bankroll alone and take a shot here.

Over/Under (O/U)

BACK THE UNDER 7.5 (+100).

The price is right. Montas is more likable than what’s presented by his surface ERA. He pitches well at home, and Greinke — though struggling — does have a nice career line against current Oakland batters (.578 OPS against).

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