The Houston Astros and Oakland Athletics swing into their best-of-five AL Division Series Monday afternoon at 4:07 p.m. ET at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Below, we analyze the Astros-Athletics Game 1 MLB betting odds and lines, with picks and best bets.
Astros at Athletics: Projected starting pitchers
RHP Lance McCullers Jr. vs. RHP Chris Bassitt
McCullers recorded a 3.93 ERA and 1.16 WHIP over 11 starts in the regular season. The 27-year-old right-hander did not pitch in Houston’s Wild Card Series against the Minnesota Twins and last appeared in a game on Sept. 26.
- Was sensational down the stretch, posting a 1.52 ERA with 11.8 SO/9 over his last five starts.
- Owns a 2.53 ERA over 32 career postseason innings (11 games, 4 starts).
Bassitt logged a 2.29 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP in 11 regular season starts. The 31-year-old hurler saved his best for late in the season, as he notched a tidy 1.52 ERA over his last five regular-season starts and was effective in a 7-inning turn against the Chicago White Sox in the Wild Card Series (7 IP, 6H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K).
- Wild Card start marked his postseason debut.
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Astros at Athletics: Key injuries
(Get the latest injury news here.)
Astros
- RP Roberto Osuna (elbow) out
- OF Yordan Alvarez (knee) out
Athletics
- 3B Matt Chapman (hip) 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 8:50 a.m. ET.
Money line (ML)
During the regular season, the Athletics (-139) averaged 4.57 runs per game while yielding 3.87. From an analytics standpoint, both figures are suspect, and the A’s went into the postseason as a solid default fade candidate. That’s not to say Oakland isn’t a solid club, just one too far over its skis with a .600 winning percentage. The bullpen matchup for this series is a more even exchange than what is indicated by surface ERA figures from the regular season (Oakland 2.72, Houston 4.39).
The Astros (+125) could really use some length from McCullers in this spot. A 7-inning turn looks to be more likely on the Bassitt side, but McCullers does have a decent history of faring well on long rest.
The offenses here are similar. In fact, both averaged 4.79 RPG in the regular season. The line here is one that likely blankets any value, but there is a lean toward the ASTROS (+125) on evidence McCullers backs up his numbers to a greater degree than Bassitt.
New to sports betting? A winning $100 bet on the Astros ML will net a $125 profit.
Run line/Against the spread (ATS)
PASS on what is a juice-drowned proposition on multi-run margins (Athletics -1.5 (+145)/Astros +1.5 (-176).)
Over/Under (O/U)
The A’s took 7-of-10 from the ‘Stros in the regular season. The Under went 7-3 over those 10 games. On a fade of Bassitt and the Oakland bullpen, and on a weather report calling for a batters’ breeze and a game-time temperature of 92 degrees, the OVER 8 (-110) is a worthy play.
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