Sonny Gray (12-7, 2.36 ERA) and the Oakland Athletics (59-79) take on Scott Kazmir (7-9, 2.50 ERA) and the Houston Astros (75-63) in a game that has the potential to be low scoring. This is the second of a three-game series at O.co Coliseum. The Athletics won the last game 10-9 and Oakland leads the series 1-0. Action begins at 10:05 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Sep. 8 and can be seen on CSCA and RTSW.
Gray pitched 5.0 innings in his most recent start, surrendering six runs, striking out two and walking one in a 9-4 defeat to the Angels. Kazmir went 4.1 innings, surrendering two runs (one unearned), striking out five and walking two in an 8-3 defeat to the Mariners in his last outing. Carlos Correa (.281, 39 Rs, 17 HRs, 50 RBIs, 11 SBs) went 1 for 5 yesterday with one run, one home run, and four RBIs.
Oakland is a slim -110 favorite at home against Houston. The matchup has an estimated Over/Under (O/U) of seven runs. The Athletics have an overall money line of -2,876 and a record as the favorite of 32-36. Oakland has had a discouraging season against division opponents, earning records of 16-17 and 26-32 as the favorite and SU respectively. The Athletics have seen an uptick in scoring against teams inside their division, averaging 4.7 runs per game. They average 4.2 runs per game on the season. Oakland’s pitching staff has been doing poorly against opposing offenses during the last 10 games, allowing an average of 6.2 runs per game, well above its season average of 4.2. The Athletics are the fourth-best team in the AL at limiting hits to their opponents, allowing only 8.3 hits per game so far this season.
In games where it is the underdog, Houston has a 30-28 record and an overall money line of +573. They have managed to pull off a perfect record over their last ten games while playing as the underdog, and have a 5-5 SU record over the same span. The Astros can change the game with one swing of the bat, ranking second in the league with 188 home runs. The Astros are an excellent base stealing team with 103 stolen bases, ranking third in the MLB. Houston’s pitching staff has set the standard for its league, with an AL-low 3.29 ERA. When it comes to preventing batters from getting on base, the Astros are one of the best in the league with a WHIP of 1.18 for the season.
The Athletics have a bad 12-28 record against left-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Kazmir takes the mound. Gray (RHP) will be on the hill against the Astros, who have a 49-41 record against right-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – Hou, O/U – Over
Notes
The Astros lost their last game by a one-run margin. In games decided by one run, the Athletics are 16-31. The Astros are 19-23 in close games this season.
The Athletics are coming into this matchup after a high-scoring game where they scored a whopping 10 runs. The Astros have a 0-3 record when opponents score that many runs or more.
When they are outhit, the Athletics are 9-50. The Astros have a 13-43 record when opponents outhit them.
Ranking 22nd in home runs, Oakland has hit 115 this season. Houston ranks second with 188 home runs.
Ranking 14th, Houston is in the top half of the league in hits, notching 8.18 per game. Oakland ranks in the top 10 at sixth with 8.74.
Ranking 23rd, Oakland is near the bottom of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.707). Houston ranks in the top 10 at ninth with an OPS of .736.
The Astros are 27-43 when they allow at least one home run. The Athletics perform similarly when they allow one or more homers with a 22-59 record.
