Houston Astros vs. Oakland Athletics Betting Preview 05/08/18

The Houston Astros will be facing off against their division rival Oakland Athletics at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. The matchup will get underway at 10:05 p.m. ET and fans looking to watch it can tune in to NBC Sports – California.

Houston Astros at Oakland Athletics Odds

Houston (-125) is coming into this one as the favorite over Oakland (+115) and oddsmakers have put the Over/Under for this one at 8 runs. The odds for betting on the game’s total sit at -110 for both the over and the under. The game’s runline odds stand at +120 for taking the Astros -1.5 runs and -140 for the Athletics +1.5.

The Astros are 22-15 SU and have gone 17-19 against the spread (ATS). They’ve lost 5.4 units for moneyline gamblers through the early part of the season and 4.8 units ATS. Houston has covered the spread only once over its last seven games and the under has hit in six of those seven. The Athletics, on the other hand, are 18-17 SU and 16-18 ATS. They’ve gained 3.0 units for moneyline bettors while earning 4.5 units ATS. Oakland has a 3-4 ATS mark over its last seven games and the under has hit in four of those seven.

Athletics games have a 17-15-2 over/under record thus far in 2018. Houston has been a decent under bet with a total record of 13-21-2.

Lance McCullers Jr. will get the nod for the visiting Astros. The right-handed McCullers Jr. is 4-1 with a 3.73 ERA and 49 strikeouts. He’s 1-0 with seven strikeouts and a 0.00 ERA against Oakland this year.

The Athletics will be sending lefty Sean Manaea (4-3, 1.63 ERA) to the hill. Manaea has 42 punchouts and seven walks to his credit, as well as a WHIP of 0.66. Manaea is 1-0 with seven strikeouts and a 0.00 ERA over one starts against Houston this year.

Oakland’s pitchers have allowed 4.9 runs per game overall in 2018 as a unit. The club’s starting pitching staff has an ERA of 4.52, a WHIP of 1.19 and a strikeouts-per-nine of 7.9. The bullpen has a 4.06 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 7.9 K/9. In 24 games against AL West foes, Athletics starters have an ERA of 5.34 and the bullpen’s ERA is 4.46.

The Oakland offense has produced 4.5 runs per contest, including 3.9 per game against divisional foes and 2.6 per game over its last five. The team’s hit .209/.249/.337 over its last five games and is 3-2 SU during that stretch.

Jed Lowrie and Mark Canha have paced the Athletics’ offense this year. Lowrie is hitting .345/.401/.590 with eight home runs, 31 RBIs and 16 runs scored, while Canha’s line is .278/.321/.519 with five homers, 13 RBIs and 14 runs.

For the visitors, Houston’s pitchers have allowed 2.8 runs per game and its starters own a 2.34 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 10.63 K/9. The bullpen has managed an ERA of 3.47, along with a K/9 of 10.03.

The Astros offense has slashed .258/.339/.408 on its way to 4.9 runs scored per game this year, including 5.6 runs per game against divisional foes and 6.6 per game over the team’s last five contests (2-3 SU).

Shortstop Carlos Correa and outfielder George Springer have led Houston’s offense. Correa is slashing .300/.373/.508 with five home runs, 25 RBIs and 24 runs scored, while Springer is slashing .292/.351/.506 with eight homers, 24 RBIs and 32 runs scored.

Compared to his overall season slash line of .315/.391/.550, Correa performed well against lefty pitching on the road last season, maintaining a slash line of .407/.458/.630 across 59 such plate appearances.

The Astros have lost 2.6 units and are 5-6 ATS when facing a left-handed starting pitcher this season. The over has cashed in four of those games, as opposed to six that’ve hit the under in such games. On the other hand, the Athletics have netted 1.8 units and are 8-12 ATS when facing a right-handed starting pitcher. The over’s hit in 13 of those games, compared to seven which went under the total.

Houston Astros vs. Oakland Athletics Free Prediction

Predictions: SU Winner – Astros, ATS Winner – Astros, O/U – UNDER

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