The Houston Astros (30-21) and Oakland Athletics (10-44) meet Sunday for the finale of a 3-game series. First pitch from Oakland Coliseum is set for 4:07 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Astros vs. Athletics odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: Astros lead 2-0
Houston won 6-3 on Saturday as -320 road favorites. The Astros got a 2-run HR from SS Jeremy Pena in the 1st inning. Houston led 2-1 in the 8th inning when it scored 4 runs to put the game away.
The Astros have won 2 straight 3 of their last 5. Oakland has lost 10 straight and the Athletics are now 5-22 at home. Houston is 16-10 on the road.
[gambcom-standard rankid=”3011″ ]
[gambcom-standard rankid=”3012″ ]
Astros at Athletics projected starters
RHP Cristian Javier vs. RHP Luis Medina
Javier (5-1, 3.07 ERA) makes his 11th start. He has a 0.95 WHIP, 2.0 BB/9 and 9.8 K/9 in 58 2/3 innings.
- Last outing: Win, 6 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 5 K, in a 12-2 road win Monday vs. Milwaukee Brewers
- Career vs. Oakland: 2-3 with a 4.81 ERA (43 IP, 23 ER), 34 H, 10 HR, 18 BB, 52 K in 11 appearances (8 starts)
Medina (0-3, 6.45 ERA) makes his 5th start. He has a 1.25 WHIP, 2.8 BB/9 and 7.7 K/9 in 22 1/3 innings.
- Last outing: Loss, 5 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 4 K, in a 3-2 road loss Tuesday vs. Seattle Mariners
- First career start vs. Houston
Astros at Athletics odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 2:02 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Astros -250 (bet $250 to win $100) | Athletics +200 (bet $100 to win $200)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Astros -2.5 (+105) | Athletics +2.5 (-130)
- Over/Under (O/U): 8.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
Win your fantasy baseball league with BaseballHQ.com. For decades, BHQ has been helping players just like you win! Use the couple code SBW23 for $15 OFF a full-season subscription. New customer offer; expires 9/30/2023. Subscribe today and start winning!
Astros at Athletics picks and predictions
Prediction
Astros 5, Athletics 2
Moneyline
AVOID.
Houston should win, but as such heavy favorites the risk associated with this bet is not worth the reward. Bet on either the run line or O/U instead.
Run line/Against the spread
LEAN ASTROS -2.5 (+105).
Only 2 of the last 10 meetings have finished with a 1-run margin. The Astros are 9-1 in the last 10 meetings overall and are clearly the much better team in this series. Expect the Astros to complete the series sweep and do so by at least 3 runs.
Play our free daily Pick’em Challenge and win! Play now!
Over/Under
BET UNDER 8.5 (-110).
For Houston the Under is 6-4 in their last 10 overall and 3-1 in their last 4 overall. The Under for Houston is also 5-0 in their last 5 Sunday games. For Oakland the Under is 8-2 in their last 10 and 4-1 in their last 5.
The Under is also 4-1 in the last 5 meetings and 6-4 in the last 10 meetings.
[gambcom-standard rankid=”5″ ]
For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.
Follow @payton_shanks on Twitter. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Additional MLB coverage:
BaseballHQ Fantasy Baseball
BaseballPress.com: Your source for every MLB lineup
[lawrence-newsletter]
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1372]