Sonny Gray (4-1, 1.61 ERA) takes the mound for the Oakland Athletics (14-26) as they go up against Roberto Hernandez (1-3, 4.12 ERA) and the Houston Astros (25-14) in the second of a three-game series at Minute Maid Park. The Athletics won the last game 2-1 and Oakland leads the series 1-0. The game gets underway at 8:10 p.m. ET on Tuesday, May. 19 and will air on CSN-CA and ROOT-SW.
Hernandez is 5-7 with a 4.84 ERA against the Athletics in his career, and faces a strong Oakland offense that’s hitting .258 on the year. Jake Marisnick (.292, 16 Rs, 3 HRs, 15 RBIs, 9 SBs) went 1 for 3 yesterday. In his career against the Astros, Gray is 2-1 with a 2.05 ERA. He gets a struggling Houston offense that’s batting just .226.
Houston, a +120 underdog, will look to capitalize at home against Oakland. The matchup currently has an eight-run Over/Under (O/U). The Astros perform well as an underdog with a 15-6 record and have an overall money line of +1,211. They have impressive records of 12-5 as the underdog and 16-10 SU within their division. The Astros lead the majors in home runs with 57. The Astros are a nightmare for opponents on the bases with 39 steals, one of the highest totals in baseball. Transitioning to the pitching staff, the Astros are second in the league in WHIP at 1.13.
Across the field, the Athletics have a subpar record of 8-18 when they are favored and are -1,820 overall with the money line. Over the past 10 matchups, they are 1-9 SU and have played poorly as the favorite with a 1-6 record. The Oakland pitching staff has been an intimidating group on the road this year, averaging 8.1 strikeouts per game.
The Astros have gotten the best of the Athletics in head-to-head matchups this season, going 4-3. This game will feature Gray (RHP) on the mound against the Astros, who have a 15-9 record when they take on a right-handed starter. Taking the hill against the Athletics will be the right-hander Hernandez. They sport a 12-18 record against righties.
Predictions: SU Winner – HOU, O/U – Over
Notes
In their last game, the Athletics won by a margin of one run. The Astros are 10-3 in one-run games. The Athletics have a 2-13 record in close games.
The Astros are 3-0 in games that go into extra innings. Meanwhile, the Athletics are 0-6 in such matchups.
The Athletics managed to give up six walks in their last game. They’ll have to pick it up against the Astros who are heading in with a 4-2 record against opponents who give up that many walks or more.
When they outhit their opponents, the Athletics are 12-7. The Astros have a 14-4 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 11th, Houston is in the top half of the league in runs, scoring 170 this season. Oakland ranks in the top five at fifth with 180.
Ranking 12th, Oakland is in the top half of the league in walks, notching 123 this season. Houston ranks in the top five at fourth with 134.
When the Astros hit at least one home run, they are 19-8. When the Athletics hit at least one homer, they have a 10-13 record.
