Houston Astros vs Oakland Athletics MLB Picks, Odds, Predictions 10/2/21

The Oakland Athletics and Houston Astros meet Saturday in MLB action at Minute Maid Park. The Athletics look for a win after splitting their last eight games. The Astros need a win after losing six of their last eight games.

The Oakland Athletics have scored 12 runs in their last three games and four or more runs in five of their last eight games. The Athletics have won six of their last eight games when scoring four or more runs. Matt Olson leads the Athletics with 150 hits and 109 RBI while Elvis Andrus and Mark Canha have combined for 241 hits and 98 RBI. Paul Blackburn gets the ball, and he is 1-3 with a 4.71 ERA and 24 strikeouts this season. Blackburn is 0-1 with a 11.12 ERA and one strikeout in his career against the Astros.

The Houston Astros have scored nine runs in their last three games and three or less runs in six of their last eight games. The Astros have lost five of their last six games when scoring three or less runs. Yuli Gurriel leads the Astros with 166 hits and 79 RBI while Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa have combined for 315 hits and 173 RBI. Jake Odorizzi gets the ball, and he is 6-7 with a 4.14 ERA and 88 strikeouts this season. Odorizzi is 1-4 with a 3.88 ERA and 35 strikeouts in his career against the Athletics.

The Athletics are 4-9 in their last 13 during game 2 of a series and 3-7 in their last 10 overall. The Astros are 150-73 in their last 223 home games and 2-5 in their last 7 overall. The under is 4-1 in Athletics last 5 overall. The under is 5-0 in Astros last 5 overall. The under is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings.

Blackburn is coming off a rough month where he allowed 30 hits and 14 earned runs in his last 20.1 innings. That’s not what you want to see when going up against this Astros offense. Odorizzi has looked good as of late, allowing 13 hits and four runs in his last 15.1 innings. Only option here is for me to side with the Astros and the RL for max betting value.