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Oakland Athletics at Houston Astros Betting Preview

Saturday afternoon features the rubber match of a three-game set between AL West rivals as the Oakland Athletics (2-7) take on the Houston Astros (6-2). Houston will host this one at Minute Maid Park, with the first pitch scheduled for 4:05 pm ET.

After dropping the opener on Thursday 6-2, the Athletics were able to get their own 6-2 victory on Friday. In the win, Matt Olson hit a three-run home run, and Sean Manaea went six innings allowing just one run.

In the loss, Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa and Myles Straw each collected two hits, but the Astros struggled, leaving nine runners on base.

The pitching matchup on Saturday will feature the A’s Frankie Montas (0-1, 23.63 ERA) squaring off with the Astros’ Jose Urquidy (0-0, 4.15 ERA).

Despite losing on Friday, the Astros are the slight favorite playing at home. They are -164 to win while the Athletics’ moneyline is +138. The over/under for total runs is nine.

By The Numbers

Despite only scoring two on Friday, the Astros have been one of the best offensive teams in baseball in the early portion of the season. They rank second, averaging 7.29 runs per game. The A’s rank dead last at 2.38.

The Astros have been especially potent with the long ball, averaging 2.14 home runs per game (second overall).

Defensively, it is once again Houston that has had the edge. The Astros rank fourth in the majors in runs allowed per game at 2.86. The A’s rank last, allowing 7.38 runs per game.

Athletics Looking To Get Back On Track

At +250, the Oakland Athletics have the second-best odds of winning the AL West. Through the first week of games, though, they have looked like anything but a contender.

Still, the Athletics know that it is early in the season and that they are a better club than they have shown. They hope that their win over the Astros on Friday, their first in five chances this season, will help kickstart a winning streak.

Taking the mound for the Athletics on Saturday will be Montas. In his first start, a 10-3 loss to the Dodgers, the right-hander did not even make it through the third inning, giving up seven runs. He will look to bounce back Saturday.

Offensively, the A’s have been led by outfielder Mark Canha, who has two home runs and three runs batted in. Unfortunately for Oakland, no hitter is batting above .276 at his point.

Houston Hopes To Keep Bats Hot

While Oakland has struggled to score thus far, Houston has really hit well to start the season. Kyle Tucker leads the team in both home runs (three) and runs batted in (10), but he isn’t the only one. Ten different players have homered on the team, and they collectively have hit 15 home runs on the season.

The Astros’ starting pitching has also been decent thus far. On Saturday, it will be Urquidy taking the mound. In his first start, he went 4 1/3 innings but allowed just a couple of runs.

One issue of late for Houston has been the bullpen, though. In the last four games, the bullpen has allowed 11 earned runs in 14 2/3 innings. If that trend doesn’t reverse, or if the starters don’t go deeper in games, the Astros may quickly cool off.

Taking The A’s On The Runline

It seemed like the three-run home run by Olson on Friday was a big weight lifted off the shoulders of the A’s. Not only did it give them the lead, but they were able to tack on a couple more runs afterward.

That type of momentum shift might do them well in Saturday’s game.

Plus, while Urquidy has shown flashes of brilliance, he doesn’t always have consistently dominant stuff. If the A’s can get into Houston’s bullpen early, they could be successful.

Granted, it does also mean keeping the Astros’ bats in check, something that has been easier said than done this year, but this has the makings of being a close one throughout. In this rubber match, I will take the runs, which means betting Oakland +1.5.

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