Houston Astros vs Oakland Athletics Prediction, 4/1/2021 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Houston Astros vs Oakland Athletics

Date: Thursday, April 1, 2021

Location: RingCentral Coliseum in Oakland, CA

TV: NBC Sports California

Odds/Point Spread: Houston (-107) Oakland (-103)

RingCentral Coliseum is the venue where Chris Bassitt and the Oakland Athletics (36-24, 1st in AL West last year) will take on the Houston Astros (29-31, 2nd in AL West last season) on Thursday. The line on this game has the Astros priced at -107 and the Athletics are at -103. The O/U has been set at 9.5. The pitchers who are expected to start will be Zack Greinke and Chris Bassitt.

The Astros accumulated 103 doubles as a squad and hit 69 baseballs out of the stadium. Houston was slugging .408 and struck out 440 times, while being walked on 192 occasions. As a squad, the Houston Astros earned 4.7 runs per game, which ranked them 14th in MLB. They earned 268 RBI's as well as 478 base knocks for the prior year, and their batting average was .240. They earned 279 runs scored while having a team on-base percentage of .312.

The Astros held a team ERA of 4.31 over the course of last season (13th in baseball), and they rung up 526 batters. Their pitching staff walked 217 hitters and their FIP was 4.33 as a squad last season. Their strikeout to walk ratio was 2.42 and the pitching staff held a collective WHIP of 1.31. Astros pitchers yielded 70 home runs and 275 total runs (17th in the league). The Astros bullpen had a save percentage of 55.2% and entered the game in 58 save situations. The bullpen inherited 115 base runners for the prior year and 28.7% of them ended up crossing the plate. Astros pitchers came into the game with runners on in 75 outings and also 75 contests with high leverage. The Astros sent forth 193 relievers to the hill for the previous season. The bullpen racked up 28 holds for the previous season (16th in baseball). They compiled 16 saves in the previous season and blew 13 out of their 29 save chances.

Greinke held a FIP of 2.8 and his ERA+ was 111. Zack Greinke gave up 67 hits in 67 innings pitched throughout last year. He allowed 30 ER's last year with a K/BB ratio of 7.4. He surrendered 9 hits per nine innings and he earned a WHIP of 1.134. His earned run average sat at 4.03 and he fanned 67 opposing hitters. Greinke has thrown 2,939 innings and has racked up 2,689 strikeouts in his MLB career. Greinke (208-126 career mark) has a FIP of 3.37 while he has gone up against 12,002 hitters in the majors. His ERA is 3.37 (1,100 earned runs allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.158. He has surrendered 2,728 hits (8.4 hits per nine innings) with 676 walks.

Oakland had 71 home runs during the previous year and 264 runs batted in. They hit 91 doubles, while walking 238 times and scoring 274 runs. The Oakland Athletics accumulated a team OBP of .322 and a team batting average of .225 last year. The Athletics held a team slugging percentage of .396 and they were earning 4.57 runs per game (17th in the league). They were called out on strikes on 524 occasions (15th in baseball) and accounted for 430 base hits.

The Athletics had a WHIP of 1.235 in addition to having a FIP of 4.02 as a unit for the previous season. They ranked 19th in baseball as a pitching staff in total hits conceded with 471. The Oakland pitching staff allowed 232 runs in the prior season while having a team ERA of 3.77 (216 earned runs relinquished). Their K/BB ratio came in at 3.07 (506 strikeouts vs 165 free passes). They allowed 69 dingers and they yielded 4.05 runs per 9 innings (5th in MLB). Oakland had relief pitchers enter the game in 55 save situations and they came away with 17 saves. They were ranked 2nd in baseball with a save percentage of 81.0%, and they sent 181 bullpen pitchers to the hill for the campaign. Their bullpen pitchers stepped onto the hill 61 games with high leverage in addition to 51 games with runners on. Oakland relief pitchers had an inherited score percentage of 31.0% of 72 inherited base runners. With 21 save opportunities, the Athletics recorded 34 holds and also 4 blown saves.

Bassitt earned a strikeout to walk ratio of 3.2 with 55 total punch outs and he held an ERA+ of 177. His WHIP was at 1.16 and he was the owner of a FIP of 3.59 throughout last year. He threw 63.0 innings last season while conceding 8 hits per 9 innings. Bassitt gave up 56 hits while he surrendered 16 earned runs (2.29 ERA). During his MLB career, Bassitt has allowed 368 base hits while he has tallied 345 strikeouts in 398 innings. Bassitt (19-21 career mark) is the owner of a 3.59 ERA while conceding 8.3 hits per nine innings. He has conceded a total of 159 earned runs while holding a WHIP of 1.275 and a FIP of 4.1. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.46 and he has gone up against 1,708 opposing hitters in his MLB career.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Houston (-107)

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