In the second of a three-game series between the Houston Astros (3-4) and the Oakland Athletics (3-4) at Minute Maid Park, Asher Wojciechowski (0-1, 4.50 ERA) and Kendall Graveman (0-1, 18.90 ERA) get the ball. The Athletics won the last game 8-1 and Oakland leads the series 1-0. The game starts at 8:10 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Apr. 14 and will air on CSN-CA and ROOT-SW.
In his most recent outing, Wojciechowski pitched 4.0 innings, allowing zero runs, striking out four and walking one in an 8-1 loss to the Athletics. Colby Rasmus (.278 ) kept up his strong start yesterday, going 2 for 6 with one run. The Athletics were unsuccessful the last time Graveman pitched. He struggled, going, going 3.1 innings, giving up seven runs (one unearned), striking out one and walking one in a 10-1 loss to the Rangers. Mark Canha (.367 ) has been doing well to start the season for the Athletics, going 2 for 5 yesterday with one run and one RBI.
Houston is a slight +103 underdog in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is eight runs. When playing as the underdog, the Astros have a 1-2 record and overall money line at -3. They have been a terror on the base paths, ranking third in all of baseball with eight steals. Turning to the pitching staff, the Astros rank fifth in the AL in home ERA with a 2.33 team average.
Moving on to the opposing team, the Athletics come into this game with a win percentage of .500 when playing as the favorite (3-3) and an overall money line of -247. Against divisional foes, they are 3-4 SU and 3-3 as the favorite. The Athletics are known for their bats, hitting 31 extra base hits. Opposing pitchers have routinely struggled to strike out the Oakland batters, who average an AL-low 0.0 strikeouts per road game. The Athletics are a problem for opposing batters, sporting a 2.73 ERA this season. They have a WHIP of 0.88, second best in the MLB.
So far this season, the Athletics are 1-0 against the Astros.
Predictions: SU Winner – OAK, O/U – Over
Notes
Houston recorded at least two errors for the second time this season.
When the Astros play into extra innings, they have a 1-0 record. The Athletics are 0-2 when their games exceed nine innings.
The Athletics managed to give up four walks in their last game. They’ll have to pick it up against the Astros who are heading in with a 0-3 record against opponents who give up that many walks or more.
When they outhit their opponents, the Astros and the Athletics both have winning records. Houston has a 2-1 record in these situations while Oakland is 4-2.
Ranking 27th, Houston is near the bottom of the league in runs, scoring 17 this season. Oakland ranks in the top five at second with 51.
Houston and Oakland both rank in the top 10 of the league in walks. Houston sits at seventh with 25 this season and Oakland ranks sixth with 26.
When the Astros hit at least one home run, they are 2-3. When the Athletics hit at least one homer, they have a 3-0 record.
