Oakland Athletics (51-91) vs. Houston Astros (93-50)
September 15, 2022 7:20 pm EDT
The Line: Houston Astros -345 / Oakland Athletics +266; Over/Under: +8
(Get latest betting odds)
The Oakland Athletics and the Houston Astros meet Thursday in MLB action from Minute Maid Park. Oakland is coming off a pair of games versus the Rangers. After a close loss Tuesday, in the Wednesday game the A’s took a close comeback win. As for Houston, they just finished up against the Tigers. After wins in the first pair of games, on Wednesday the Astros eked out a victory. Check back all season long for free MLB picks at Sports Chat Place.
Oakland was up 7-2 at one point versus the Rangers on Tuesday but couldn’t hang on in an 8-7 loss. In the Wednesday matchup, the A’s were down 5-1 at one point but fought back for an eventual 8-7 win. JP Sears managed 4.0 innings in the start with five earned on seven hits and a walk.
For the starter job in the Thursday game the A’s are going with James Kaprielian. In his 22 starts this year Kaprielian is 3-9 with a 4.79 ERA. In 109.0 innings he has 103 hits, 58 earned, 52 walks and 76 Ks.
Over on the Astros’ side, they took care of the Tigers 7-0 on Monday and 6-3 in the Tuesday matchup. In game three Houston managed a 2-1 win on five team hits. Cristian Javier managed 6.0 clean frames in the start with two hits, no walks and eight Ks.
As starting pitcher Thursday the Astros will go with Lance McCullers. In his five starts so far McCullers is 3-1 with a 2.20 ERA. He has 26 Ks in 28.2 innings on 23 hits and 15 walks.
The A’s are 10-25 in their last 35 on grass and 10-25 in their last 35 overall. Oakland is 0-4 in their last four Thursday games.
Meanwhile, the Astros are 40-13 in their last 53 Thursday games and 46-18 in their last 64 at home. Houston is 56-26 in the last 82 overall.
PICK: I’m going to take a stab on the Astros here, but realistically the line is too thick to mess with. McCullers is 2-0 in his last pair of starts with 12.2 innings total, 10 hits, four earned and five walks. As for Kaprielian, he’s got 10 earned in his last 8.1 frames on 14 hits and seven walks. Houston should be able to get a few knocks if their offense is working well.
