Oakland Athletics vs. Houston Astros MLB Picks, Odds, Predictions 7/8/2021

The Oakland Athletics and Houston Astros meet Thursday in MLB action at Minute Maid Park. The Athletics need a win after losing five of their last six games. The Astros look to build on their six-game winning streak.

The Oakland Athletics have scored nine runs in their last three games and three or less runs in five of their last seven games. The Athletics have lost four straight games when scoring three or less runs. Matt Olson leads the Athletics with 83 hits and 55 RBI while Jed Lowrie and Mark Canha have combined for 140 hits and 70 RBI. Frankie Montas gets the ball, and he is 7-7 with a 4.63 ERA and 95 strikeouts this season. Montas is 5-4 with a 4.06 ERA and 41 strikeouts in his career against the Astros.

The Houston Astros have scored 17 runs in their last three games and four or more runs in five of their last six games. The Astros have won 10 of their last 11 games when scoring four or more runs. Yuli Gurriel leads the Astros with 92 hits and 54 RBI while Michael Brantley and Carlos Correa have combined for 178 hits and 83 RBI. Lance McCullers Jr. gets the ball, and he is 6-1 with a 2.97 ERA and 81 strikeouts this season. McCullers is 6-2 with a 3.66 ERA and 62 strikeouts in his career against the Athletics.

The Athletics are 3-7 in their last 10 road games and 2-5 in their last 7 Thursday games. The Astros are 17-5 in their last 22 Thursday games and 35-16 in their last 51 overall. The under is 4-1 in Athletics last 5 during game 3 of a series. The over is 5-1 in Astros last 6 home games. The Athletics are 3-9 in the last 12 meetings.

The Athletics are in a bit of a funk right now, the offense isn’t producing and Montas has had his fair share of struggles this season. The Astros continue to swing hot bats and they’re a team that you don’t step in front of when they have it going. McCullers is also having one of his better seasons and usually pitches his best at home. Give me the Astros and the reasonable price.