Oakland Athletics vs Houston Astros Prediction, 10/8/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Oakland Athletics vs Houston Astros

Date: Thursday, October 8, 2020

Location: Minute Maid Park in Houston, TX

TV: TBS

Odds/Point Spread: Athletics (-102) Astros (-108)

Mark Canha and the Oakland Athletics (36-24, 1st in AL West) head to Minute Maid Park on Thursday where they'll meet the Houston Astros (29-31, 2nd in AL West) in Game 4 of the ALDS. The Astros lead the series 2-1. The odds on this matchup have the Athletics coming in at -102 and the Astros are at -108. The over/under has been set at 8.5. The starting pitchers will be Frankie Montas and Cristian Javier.

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

10/7/2020 Brad Peacock RP Shoulder Out for the season
10/6/2020 Zack Greinke SP Arm 
9/30/2020 Roberto Osuna RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Feb 1, 2021
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

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Athletics had a 36-24 overall record this season. Montas (18-14 career win-loss mark) has a FIP of 4.10 while he has gone up against 1,132 opposing hitters in the majors. His earned run average is 4.21 (122 earned runs allowed) and his career WHIP is 1.395. He has given up 268 hits (9.2 hits per nine innings) and has 96 walks. Montas has taken the ball for 261 frames and is sitting with 262 strikeouts so far in his MLB career. 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: How to Bet Parlays

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. Mark Canha is hitting .246 with an on-base percentage of .387. He has 47 hits this season in 191 at bats with 33 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .408 and an OPS+ of 126. Matt Olson is hitting .195 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .310. He has totaled 41 hits and he has driven in 42 men in 210 at bats. His OPS+ is 105 while his slugging percentage is at .424. 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. Javier (5-2 win-loss record) is the owner of a 3.49 ERA and has conceded 6.0 hits per nine innings. His strikeout to walk ratio is 3.00 and he has gone up against 214 opposing hitters so far in his pro baseball career. Javier has allowed 36 base hits while totaling 54 punchouts in 54 innings. He has conceded 21 ER's while holding a WHIP of 0.998 and a FIP of 5.0. 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. George Springer comes into this matchup batting .265 with an OBP of .359. He has 50 hits this year along with 32 RBI in 189 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .540 with an OPS+ of 140. Jose Altuve is hitting .219 this season and he has an OBP of .286. He has collected 42 hits in 192 at bats while driving in 18 runs. He has an OPS+ of 71 and a slugging percentage of .344. 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?

Parlays Pundit's Pick: Take the Astros (-108) and over 8.5 runs

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