Houston Astros vs Oakland Athletics Prediction, 10/5/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Houston Astros vs Oakland Athletics

Date: Monday, October 5, 2020

Location: Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, CA

TV: TBS

Odds/Point Spread: Astros (+100) Athletics (-110)

Mark Canha and the Oakland Athletics (36-24, 1st in AL West) host the Houston Astros (29-31, 2nd in AL West) at Oakland Coliseum on Monday in Game 1 of the ALDS. The Astros open this game at +100 while the Athletics are priced at -110. The total opens at 8. The expected starting pitchers are Zack Greinke and Jesus Luzardo.

Key Houston Astros Injuries

9/30/2020 Roberto Osuna RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Feb 1, 2021
9/29/2020 Brad Peacock RP Shoulder Out for the season
9/29/2020 Chris Devenski RP Elbow Out for the season
9/29/2020 Justin Verlander SP Elbow Out for the season
9/23/2020 Rogelio Armenteros RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Feb 1, 2021
9/4/2020 Austin Pruitt RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Apr 1, 2021
8/23/2020 Yordan Alvarez DH Knee Expected to be out until at least Feb 1, 2021

Key Oakland Athletics Injuries

9/29/2020 Matt Chapman 3B Hip Out for the season
9/27/2020 Burch Smith RP Forearm Expected to be out until at least Oct 5
9/18/2020 A.J RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Feb 1, 2021

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Astros have a 29-31 overall record this season. Greinke (208-126 career record) has earned a FIP of 3.45 while he has faced 12,002 batters in the majors. His ERA is 3.37 (1,100 ER's allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.158. He has surrendered 2,728 hits (8.4 hits per nine innings) with 676 walks. Greinke has thrown 2,939 innings and is sitting with 2,689 punchouts in his career. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.39 and they have given up 204 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .214 against the bullpen and they've struck out 225 hitters and walked 118 batters. As a team, Houston allows 8.1 hits per nine innings while striking out 9 batters per nine innings. They are 13th in the league in team earned run average at 4.31. The Astros pitchers collectively have given up 472 base hits and 251 earned runs. They have allowed 70 home runs this season, ranking them 20th in the league. Houston as a pitching staff has walked 217 batters and struck out 526. They have walked 3.7 men per 9 innings while striking out 9 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.32 and their FIP as a unit is 4.33.

Related: Get MLB predictions on all of today's games

Hitting Statistics

As a team Houston is hitting .240, good for 20th in the league. The Astros hold a .408 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .312, which is good for 22nd in baseball. They rank 17th in MLB with 8.0 hits per game. Yuli Gurriel is hitting .232 with an on-base percentage of .274. He has 49 hits this season in 211 at bats with 22 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .384 and an OPS+ of 76. Jose Altuve is hitting .219 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .286. He has totaled 42 hits and he has driven in 18 men in 192 at bats. His OPS+ is 71 while his slugging percentage is at .344. The Astros have 478 hits, including 103 doubles and 69 home runs. Houston has walked 192 times so far this season and they have struck out 440 times as a unit. They have left 382 men on base and have a team OPS of .720. They score 4.65 runs per contest and have scored a total of 279 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Oakland has a 36-24 overall mark this year. Luzardo (3-2 career record) has a 3.68 ERA and has given up 8.0 hits per 9 innings. His strikeout to walk ratio is 3.75 and he has faced 294 opposing hitters so far in his pro baseball career. In his career, Luzardo has allowed 63 hits and he has 75 punchouts in 71 innings pitched. He has conceded 29 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.169 and having a FIP of 3.9. The bullpen has an earned run average of 2.72 and they have given up 159 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .186 against the Athletics bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 223 batters and walked 77 opposing hitters. As a team, Oakland allows 8.2 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.8 batters per nine innings. They are 5th in the league in team earned run average at 3.77. The Athletics pitchers as a team have surrendered 471 base knocks and 216 earned runs this season. They have given up 69 home runs this year, which ranks 22nd in Major League Baseball. Oakland as a staff has walked 165 hitters and struck out 506 batters. They give up a walk 2.9 times per 9 innings while they strike out 8.8 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.23 while their FIP as a staff is 4.02.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .225, good for 25th in the league. The Athletics hold a .396 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .322, which is good for 15th in baseball. They rank 24th in MLB with 7.2 hits per contest. Mark Canha comes into this matchup batting .246 with an OBP of .387. He has 47 hits this year along with 33 RBI in 191 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .408 with an OPS+ of 126. Matt Olson is hitting .195 this season and he has an OBP of .310. He has collected 41 hits in 210 at bats while driving in 42 runs. He has an OPS+ of 105 and a slugging percentage of .424. The Athletics as a unit have 430 base hits, including 91 doubles and 71 homers. Oakland has walked 238 times this year and they have struck out on 524 occasions. They have had 391 men left on base and have an OPS of .718. They have scored 4.57 runs per game and totaled 274 runs this season.

Who will win tonight's Astros/Athletics MLB game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take the Athletics (-110)

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