The Houston Astros (6-6) open a series tonight against the Oakland Athletics (9-4). winners of six straight games. The A’s have rung up six straight wins while the Astros just lost a series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. First pitch is set for 9:10 p.m ET at Ring Central Coliseum. We analyze the Astros-Athletics betting odds and lines, with MLB picks and best bets.
Astros at Athletics: Projected starting pitchers
RHP Zack Greinke vs. RHP Chris Bassitt
Greinke has pitched a total of nine innings in his first two starts. He has a 1.00 WHIP, but has allowed five earned runs and struck out just six batters.
- He made two starts against Oakland in 2019, and allowed just one earned run across 13 innings in those outings.
- Greinke has appeared in 11 games (eight starts) at the Coliseum. He has pitched a total of 53 innings there, with a 2.55 ERA and 48 strikeouts (8.2 K/9).
Bassitt has been impressive in his first two starts, totaling 9 2/3 innings with just one earned run allowed and 12 strikeouts.
- He made three starts against the Astros last season. He pitched a total of 18 innings, with a 5.00 ERA and a 12:3 K:BB ratio.
- Bassitt owns a shiny 2.79 ERA in 155 career innings in Oakland, which includes 24 starts and six relief appearances.
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Astros at Athletics: Key injuries
Get the latest injury news here.
Astros
- OF George Springer (wrist) out
- DH Yordan Alvarez (knee) out
- RP Roberto Osuna (elbow) out
- SS Aledmys Diaz (hamstring) out
Athletics
- SP A.J. Puk (shoulder) out
- RP Jordan Weems (back) out
Astros at Athletics: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips
MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated at 3 p.m. ET.
Prediction
Athletics 5, Astros 4
Moneyline (ML)
Astros: +110
Athletics: -125
At first glance, taking Greinke as a dog against Bassitt may seem like the way to go; however, Greinke’s early-season velocity is way down, more than three ticks below his 2019 level. Also, the Houston lineup will be missing another key piece in Springer, who hurt his wrist Thursday night.
Bassitt was solid in 2019 and has been excellent in his first two starts of 2020. This is likely to be a close game, but we’ll side with the home team and take the ATHLETICS.
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Run line/Against the spread (ATS)
Astros: +1 (-139)
Athletics: -1 (+115)
Even with the diminished velocity, Greinke is likely to keep his team in the game. Neither team should blow this one open, and it stands a decent chance of ending up a one-run game, so a PASS on the run line is the recommendation here.
Over/Under (O/U)
Over: 8.5 (-106)
Under: 8.5 (-115)
After a very quiet start to the season, the Oakland offense has come to life lately, scoring 28 runs in the last four contests, and the A’s aren’t likely to be silenced in this one, either.
While Bassitt has pitched well lately, he probably won’t completely shut down a Houston offense leading the league in runs per game. A slight lean to the OVER 8.5 (-106) is the play on this total.
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