The Oakland Athletics and the Houston Astros meet Monday in MLB action from Minute Maid Park. Oakland just finished up against the Rangers over the weekend, wining the opener by three runs. On Saturday the A’s lost a close one, then in the Sunday rubber match Oakland lost by five runs. As for Houston, they played the Padres over the weekend. The Astros were blown out in the opener before a two-run win in game two. On Sunday Houston took a blowout victory. Check back all season long for free MLB picks at Sports Chat Place.

Oakland Athletics 

The A’s were able to power out a 6-3 win over the Rangers in the opener of their weekend series, then on Saturday the team fell in a tough one 3-2. In the rubber-match finale Oakland had a 4-3 lead at one point but still lost 9-4. Tyler Soderstrom put up a solo homer, while Jordan Diaz and Seth Brown (run) each had an RBI. 

As starter for the Monday matchup the A’s are going with Mason Miller. This year in five games (four starts) Miller is 0-2 with a 3.09 ERA and 25 Ks over 23.1 frames. Miller is coming off 2.0 clean innings versus the Blue Jays on September 6. 

Oakland Athletics Team Facts

• The Athletics have lost nine of their last 10 games at Minute Maid Park.
• The Athletics have covered the run line in seven of their last eight games as underdogs against AL West opponents.
• The Athletics have trailed after 7 innings in each of their last 11 Monday road games.
• The Athletics have trailed after 5 innings in each of their last four games at Minute Maid Park against American League opponents that held a winning record.

Houston Astros 

Over on the Astros’ side, they fell behind to the Padres early on Friday and lost 11-2. In game two Houston posted 11 team hits in a 7-5 win. Jurickson Profar provided three hits, two RBI and a homer in the victory.  In the Sunday finale the Astros scored a whopping eight runs in the sixth inning during a 12-2 win. Jose Altuve finished with two runs, three RBI and a homer. 

In the starting pitcher position for Monday’s game the Astros have selected Framber Valdez. This year in 27 starts Valdez is 11-9 with a 3.30 ERA and 168 strikeouts over 174.2 innings. Valdez is 3-2 with a 3.33 ERA in his last seven starts. 

Houston Astros Team Facts

• The Astros have lost each of their last four games as home favorites against American League opponents.
• The Astros have failed to cover the run line in each of their last five home games against American League opponents.
• The Astros have trailed after 3 innings in each of their last four games as favorites against AL West opponents.
• The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Astros’ last five games against AL West opponents.
• The Astros have trailed after 5 innings in each of their last four games as favorites against AL West opponents.

Matchup/League Facts

• The Houston Astros ranks 3rd in the league for strikeouts against this season (1104).
• The Houston Astros are one of only 3 teams in the league to rank top 10 in both strikeouts and on-base percentage this season.
• The Oakland Athletics ranks 30th in the league for runs scored this season (527).
• The Oakland Athletics ranks 30th in the league for RBI’s this season (507).

ANDREW’S FREE PICK 

I’ll stay with the Astros. The line’s way too thick to mess with, though. Valdez is pitching well thee days. In his last three starts combined Valdez is 2-0 with just three earned runs in 20.0 innings on 11 hits and nine walks total. As for Miller, he’s coming off a nice outing but probably won’t go too deep into the game here. In Sunday’s matchup Houston really got going in the eighth inning during a pretty solid overall effort. Houston has scored seven or more runs in five of their last six games, so the offense is really on fire right now. I like the Astros to keep it going.