The Oakland Athletics (71-59) host the New York Yankees (76-53) Sunday for the finale of their four-game series at Oakland Coliseum. First pitch is scheduled for 7:08 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze the lines around the Yankees vs. Athletics odds with MLB picks and predictions.
Oakland seeks a split of the series after snapping New York’s 13-game win streak Saturday with a 3-2 victory. The Yankees won the first two games of the series by a combined score of 15-8.
Season series: Yankees lead 4-2.
LHP Jordan Montgomery makes his 24th start for the Yankees. Montgomery is 5-5 with a 3.69 ERA (124 1/3 IP, 51 ER), 1.20 WHIP, 3.0 BB/9 and 8.9 K/9.
- Last outing: Win, 5-1, with 5 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 4 BB and 2 K at the Atlanta Braves Monday.
- Road splits: 3-2 with a 3.97 ERA (68 IP, 30 ER), 1.29 WHIP and 2.5 K/BB in 13 starts.
RHP Paul Blackburn gets the nod for the Athletics. Blackburn is 0-1 with a 4.09 ERA (11 IP, 5 ER), 10 H, 3 BB and 8 K in a no-decision vs. the Seattle Mariners (Monday) and a loss at the Chicago White Sox (Aug. 18).
Yankees at Athletics odds, lines, picks and prediction
MLB odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated at 11:15 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Yankees -155 (bet $155 to win $100) | Athletics +125 (bet $100 to win $125)
- Against the spread/ATS: Yankees -1.5 (+102) | Athletics +1.5 (-125)
- Over/Under: 8.5 (O: -130 | U: +105)
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Prediction
Yankees 5, Athletics 3
Money line (ML)
“LEAN” to the YANKEES (-155) for a half unit because they are better than the A’s in the three most important phases of the game (starting pitching, relief pitching and hitting).
Montgomery has been New York’s most reliable starter not named “Gerrit Cole” while Blackburn is only getting the start for Oakland because starting RHP Chris Bassitt is on the IL after taking a line drive off the face against the Chicago White Sox Aug. 17.
New York’s bullpen has the best xFIP in MLB while Oakland’s bullpen has the sixth-worst xFIP and is fifth-worst in both SIERA and K-BB%.
Yankees hitters have a higher WAR, wRC+ and wOBA than the A’s over the last 30 days.
Lastly, New York has the most wins this season against teams with a winning record at 42-35 whereas Oakland is just 25-40 vs. teams above .500.
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Run line/Against the spread (ATS)
PASS because the Yankees -1.5 (+102) isn’t a big enough payout to justify laying it with a New York side that has won just three of its last 13 games in Oakland.
On top of that, the Yankees are 20-25 ATS as road favorites while the A’s are 10-7 ATS as home underdogs.
Over/Under (O/U)
Slight “LEAN” to the UNDER 8.5 (+105) for a quarter unit if at all because of the “reverse line movement” against a market that’s backing the Over at more than a 75% clip, according to Pregame.com.
In addition, the Yankees are 6-11-1 O/U on the road against right-handed starters as money line favorites of -140 or greater and 4-9 O/U in Montgomery’s 13 road outings. The Under has cashed in Oakland’s previous four games vs. a lefty starter.
However, it’s only a slight “lean” because we are getting to the party late since the Yankees-Athletics opened with a 9-run total but has been steamed down by the oddsmakers despite all the pro-Over bets.
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