The Oakland Athletics (49-37) and Houston Astros (52-33) meet at Minute Maid Park Tuesday with an 8:10 p.m. ET first pitch to open a three-game AL West series. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook‘s lines around the Athletics vs. Astros odds with MLB picks and predictions.
RHP Chris Bassitt is the projected starting pitcher for the Athletics. He is 9-2 with a 3.04 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 9.2 K/9, and 2.3 BB/9 in 106 2/3 IP over 17 starts.
Bassitt is coming off 7 scoreless innings in his last start and owns a tidy 1.93 ERA over his last five outings.
LHP Framber Valdez is the projected starting pitcher for the Astros. Valdez has made seven starts this season and is 5-1 with a 2.18 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 8.1 K/9, and 2.8 BB/9 in 45 1/3 IP.
Valdez owns a 3.69 ERA and 1.21 WHIP at home since 2019. Albeit in a small sample he has held current Oakland bats to an aggregate .483 OPS in past meetings.
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Athletics at Astros odds, lines, picks and prediction
MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated at 9:24 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Athletics +125 (bet $100 to win $125) | Astros -150 (bet $150 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS: Athletics +1.5 (-160) | Astros -1.5 (+135)
- Over/Under: 8 (O: -115 | U: -105)
Prediction
Astros 6, Athletics 3
Money line (ML)
The Astros and Athletics head into this series as the 1-2 in the AL West with Houston holding a 3 1/2-game lead. The home nine are on a 4-game win streak while Oakland has lost 3 of its last 4 games and is just 5-10 with a .651 OPS since June 19.
Houston is certainly worthy of the favorite tag here but peg the true odds as being bracketed by these prices. PASS.
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Run line/Against the spread (ATS)
These two bullpens have figured prominently in Houston leapfrogging the A’s in the standings. Over the last 5-6 weeks, the Astros have been a top-5 group; the Athletics have been a bottom-5 group. Oakland’s relievers overall 4.08 ERA has been buoyed by a .277 batting average on balls in play.
The price on HOUSTON -1.5 (+135) is solid relative to the marketplace, and there is a decent tilt against the pitching in this one.
Over/Under (O/U)
The strongest play in this matchup is the OVER 8 (-115). While Bassitt and Valdez are both quite good they just aren’t “combined 5.22 ERA” good. And the Houston offense has been rolling – since June 4 the Astros have averaged 6.3 runs per game on the strength of an .866 OPS.
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