Oakland Athletics vs Houston Astros Prediction, 10/7/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Oakland Athletics vs Houston Astros

Date: Wednesday, October 7, 2020

Location: Minute Maid Park in Houston, TX

TV: TBS

Odds/Point Spread: Athletics (-107) Astros (-113)

Matt Olson and the Oakland Athletics (36-24, 1st in AL West) head to Minute Maid Park on Wednesday where they'll meet the Houston Astros (29-31, 2nd in AL West) in Game 3 of the ALDS. The Astros open this matchup at -113 while the Athletics are priced at -107. The over/under is set at 8.5. The expected starting pitchers are Jesus Luzardo and Zack Greinke.

Key Oakland Athletics Injuries

10/5/2020 Burch Smith RP Forearm Expected to be out until at least Oct 5
9/29/2020 Matt Chapman 3B Hip Out for the season
9/18/2020 A.J RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Feb 1, 2021

Key Houston Astros Injuries

9/30/2020 Roberto Osuna RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Feb 1, 2021
9/29/2020 Justin Verlander SP Elbow Out for the season
9/29/2020 Chris Devenski RP Elbow Out for the season
9/29/2020 Brad Peacock RP Shoulder 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

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Athletics had a 36-24 overall record this season. Luzardo has taken the hill for 71 innings and has accumulated 75 strikeouts in his pro baseball career. His earned run average is 3.68 (29 earned runs allowed) and he has a career WHIP of 1.169. He has conceded 63 base hits (8.0 hits per nine innings) and has had 20 free passes. Luzardo (3-2 career win-loss record) is the owner of a FIP of 3.93 and he has gone up against 294 batters during his time in the major leagues. 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 bullpen and they've struck out 223 hitters and walked 77 batters. 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 collectively have given up 471 base hits and 216 earned runs. They have allowed 69 home runs this season, ranking them 22nd in the league. Oakland as a pitching staff has walked 165 batters and struck out 506. They have walked 2.9 men per 9 innings while striking out 8.8 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.23 and their FIP as a unit is 4.02.

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

Hitting Statistics

As a team Oakland is hitting .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 game. Matt Olson is hitting .195 with an on-base percentage of .310. He has 41 hits this season in 210 at bats with 42 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .424 and an OPS+ of 105. Mark Canha is hitting .246 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .387. He has totaled 47 hits and he has driven in 33 men in 191 at bats. His OPS+ is 126 while his slugging percentage is at .408. The Athletics have 430 hits, including 91 doubles and 71 home runs. Oakland has walked 238 times so far this season and they have struck out 524 times as a unit. They have left 391 men on base and have a team OPS of .718. They score 4.57 runs per contest and have scored a total of 274 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Houston has a 29-31 overall mark this year. So far in his pro baseball career, Greinke has surrendered 2,728 base hits while tallying 2,689 punchouts in 2,939 frames. He has given up a total of 1,100 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.158 and being the owner of a FIP of 3.4. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 3.98 and he has faced 12,002 batters so far in his MLB career. Greinke (208-126 career record) has earned a 3.37 earned run average while allowing 8.4 hits per 9 innings. 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 Astros bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 225 batters and walked 118 opposing hitters. 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 as a team have surrendered 472 base knocks and 251 earned runs this season. They have given up 70 home runs this year, which ranks 20th in Major League Baseball. Houston as a staff has walked 217 hitters and struck out 526 batters. They give up a walk 3.7 times per 9 innings while they strike out 9 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.32 while their FIP as a staff is 4.33.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .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 contest. Jose Altuve comes into this matchup batting .219 with an OBP of .286. He has 42 hits this year along with 18 RBI in 192 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .344 with an OPS+ of 71. George Springer is hitting .265 this season and he has an OBP of .359. He has collected 50 hits in 189 at bats while driving in 32 runs. He has an OPS+ of 140 and a slugging percentage of .540. The Astros as a unit have 478 base hits, including 103 doubles and 69 homers. Houston has walked 192 times this year and they have struck out on 440 occasions. They have had 382 men left on base and have an OPS of .720. They have scored 4.65 runs per game and totaled 279 runs this season.

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

Josh's Pick: Take the Astros (-113)

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