The Oakland Athletics and Houston Astros clash Tuesday in game 2 of an MLB series at Minute Maid Park. Let’s preview this game and give out a pick and prediction.

Oakland Athletics Betting Preview

The Athletics look for a win after splitting their last 8 games. The Athletics have the second-worst record in MLB at 45-99. The Athletics pitching staff is 29th in ERA (5.57), 29th in WHIP (1.53) and 30th in quality starts (27). The Athletics offense is 30th in runs per game (3.69), 30th in batting average (.225) and 22nd in homers (154). Esteury Ruiz leads the Athletics with 103 hits and 42 RBI, while Brent Rooker and Shea Langeliers have combined for 182 hits and 110 RBI. JP Sears gets the ball, and he is 4-11 with a 4.51 ERA and 141 strikeouts this season. Sears is 0-1 with a 5.52 ERA and 9 strikeouts in his career against the Astros.

Oakland Athletics Team Facts

• The Athletics have lost each of their last seven road games against AL West opponents following a road win.
• The Athletics have covered the run line in eight of their last nine games as underdogs against AL West opponents.
• The Athletics have led after 7 innings in five of their last seven games as underdogs against AL West opponents.

Houston Astros Betting Preview

The Astros also look for a win after splitting their last 10 games. The Astros have a 2 game lead in the AL West. The Astros pitching staff is 9th in ERA (3.97), 18th in WHIP (1.29) and 5th in quality starts (65). The Astros offense is 5th in runs per game (5.17), 4th in batting average (.262) and 8th in homers (198). Alex Bregman leads the Astros with 151 hits and 93 RBI, while Kyle Tucker and Jeremy Pena have combined for 284 hits and 151 RBI. Justin Verlander gets the ball, and he is 11-7 with a 3.23 ERA and 119 strikeouts this season. Verlander is 16-7 with a 2.49 ERA and 186 strikeouts in his career against the Athletics.

Houston Astros Team Facts

• The Astros have lost each of their last five games as home favorites against American League opponents.
• The Astros have failed to cover the run line in each of their last six home games against American League opponents.
• The Astros have trailed after 5 innings in each of their last five games as favorites against AL West opponents.
• The Astros have trailed after 7 innings in each of their last five games as favorites against AL West opponents.
• The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Astros’ last three games.

Matchup/League Facts

• The Houston Astros ranks 3rd in the league for strikeouts against this season (1110).
• 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 (531).
• The Oakland Athletics ranks 30th in the league for RBI’s this season (511).

Randy’s Pick

The Athletics have been able to find wins here and there lately, and JP Sears has been great in his last two starts, allowing 8 hits and 1 run in his last 11 innings. I’m still not looking in the A’s direction, the worst team in baseball and a team that doesn’t make bettors money. The Astros are at home, they’re fighting for a division title, and Justin Verlander is on the mound. Verlander is starting to find himself, allowing 1 or less earned runs in 3 of his last 4 starts. Give me the Astros and the RL for max betting value.