The Houston Astros take on the Oakland Athletics. Our MLB odds series has our Astros Athletics prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Astros Athletics.
The Oakland Athletics continue to sink deeper and deeper in the MLB standings. One by one by one, the losses just keep adding up. Oakland has lost eight games in a row to fall to 10-42 on the season. That’s below a .200 winning percentage (.192), which is uniquely bad. The A’s, at this rate, could lose almost 130 games. They definitely seem unlikely to win as many as 40 games, which would make this the worst season of MLB’s 162-game era. The American League adopted the 162-game schedule (moving up from 154) in 1961. The National League followed in 1962. The 1962 New York Mets went 40-120. That’s the worst full-season record in the 162-game era. Oakland is on pace to be worse, though there are 110 games left for the A’s to do something about it.
Here are the Astros-Athletics MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Astros-Athletics Odds
Houston Astros: -1.5 (-162)
Oakland Athletics: +1.5 (+134)
Over: 8.5 (-114)
Under: 8.5 (-106)
How To Watch Astros vs. Athletics
TV: AT&T SportsNet Southwest (Astros) / NBC Sports California (Athletics) / MLB Extra Innings
Stream: ESPN+
Time: 9:40 p.m. ET/6:40 p.m. PT
*Watch Astros-Athletics LIVE on fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Astros Could Cover The Spread
The Oakland Athletics are bad on a scale we haven’t often seen. Usually, even the worst MLB teams win at least 50 games, but it seems near-certain that these A’s won’t hit 50 wins. They might have to scramble to reach 40. The A’s are such a hollowed-out team due to the penny-pinching ways of their ownership group, which clearly wants to set up a move out of town with a brand-new stadium deal.
Houston, though having lost a few games earlier this week against the Milwaukee Brewers, has been playing much better baseball of late. The Astros are seven games above .500 at 28-21. They’re closing on the Texas Rangers in the American League West. They have risen above the Los Angeles Angels into second place in the division. They’re just one game out of the final American League wild card spot in the loss column. They have Jose Altuve back in the lineup. They have survived a brutal start to the season and the injuries which accompanied it. They’re in a good place, going up against a historically bad team.
Why The Athletics Could Cover The Spread
The A’s didn’t win a game in Seattle this past week against the Mariners, but they did play tough ballgames, and on Thursday night, they covered the spread by losing by only one run. The A’s don’t have elite players, but they have competed well. They aren’t going to win a lot of games, but there will be plenty of times when they cover the +1.5 run line. This is a game in which Houston is starting Hunter Brown, a back-end pitcher, not Framber Valdez or Cristian Javier, their high-end starters. It’s a chance for the Oakland offense to score some runs. The A’s might not win, but they could lose 5-4 and cover on the run line.
Final Astros-Athletics Prediction & Pick
The Oakland A’s are historically bad at a level which is impossible to ignore. The Houston Astros are not only the defending World Series champions; they’re playing well and are healthier than they were in April, when they struggled. This is a relatively easy call as far as betting plays go.
Final Astros-Athletics Prediction & Pick: Astros -1.5