Astros vs. A’s Wednesday Pick
The Houston Astros took the first game of their series against the Oakland A’s on Tuesday night and the over cashed in the process. With Gerrit Cole on the bump tonight for Houston, will Wednesday night’s Astros-A’s play out differently in terms of the betting total?
Game Snapshot & Odds
923 Houston Astros (-195) at 924 Oakland A’s (+165); 8 runs
Wednesday, June 13, 2018
10:05 p.m. ET, Oakland Coliseum
TV: HOU (ATTH); OAK (CSCA)
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Public Betting Trends
Oddsmakers from online sportsbooks currently list the Astros as a -195 favorite. As of this writing, 78% of the betting tickets wagered at online sportsbooks are on the Astros to beat the A’s on the moneyline. This information is subject to change, however, so be sure to check out our MLB Public Betting Page for updated figures on this game.
Astros’ Cole holds Rangers to one run in victory
Gerrit Cole limited the Rangers to one run over six innings, striking out eight, in a win Thursday. Cole actually fell behind early after allowing an Adrian Beltre RBI single in the first inning, but he tightened up to keep the Rangers off the scoreboard for the rest of his time. That’s been par for the course for Cole, who is now 7-1 after winning five straight decisions and has a microscopic 2.16 ERA, 0.84 ERA and 124/23 K/BB ratio over 87 2/3 innings. The move to Houston has unlocked Cole’s potential, and he should continue to crush the competition when he faces the Athletics on Wednesday.
A’s Blackburn allows just three hits in debut vs. Royals
Making his first start of the season, Paul Blackburn surrendered just one run on three hits over six innings in Thursday’s 4-1 win over the Royals. Blackburn was sidelined for the first 10 weeks of the campaign while rehabbing a right forearm strain. He looked to be in midseason form during Thursday’s debut, though, striking out three without walking a batter over his six innings of work, with only a solo home run by Alcides Escobar in the third inning serving to mar the scoreboard. He recorded a stellar 12 groundouts on the evening and threw a hearty 52 of his 67 pitches for strikes.
He figures to receive a longer leash pitch count-wise as he’s stretched back out for major league action over his coming turns in the rotation. When making his first 10 big league starts a year ago, Blackburn posted a 3.22 ERA.
MLB Betting Trends
Houston
The Astros are 4-0 in their last four games versus the A’s in Oakland and are 25-8 in their last 33 games versus the A’s overall.
Oakland
The over is 8-2-1 in the last 11 meetings between these two teams and after barely cashing last night, the over is 7-2 in the last nine meetings between these two teams when the game is played in Oakland.
Prediction:
I lost on my under prediction last night but I’m going back to the well tonight. The under is 3-1-1 in Cole’s last five road starts, is 3-1-1 in his last five outings coming off five days of rest, and is 3-1-1 in his last five starts versus the rest of the American League West. The under is also 13-4 in the A’s last 17 home games, is 5-2-1 in their last eight games played in the division and has cashed in four of Blackburn’s last five starts.
The Pick: Astros/A’s under 8