Houston Astros vs Oakland Athletics 05/18/2021 MLB Odds, Preview, and Pick

The Houston Astros visit the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday in a battle between the Top 2 teams in the American League West.

Houston has reeled off six straight victories and has come to within 0.5 games behind Oakland. The A’s meanwhile won their last series against the Minnesota Twins 2-1 and have won four out of their last six games played. Houston is just 9-8 on the road while Oakland is 13-11 at home this season. These teams have played in seven games this season with the Astros currently leading their season series 5-2.

Houston Astros

The Houston Astros head to Oakland after sweeping the Texas Rangers in a four-game series at home. Houston outscored Texas 26-14 in four games played, including a 6-2 win in the series finale. The Astros are 24-17 on the season and they are just one-half game behind the Athletics

Cristian Javier will start for the Astros in Game 1 of this series. The 24-year old right-hander from the Dominican Republic has started a total of seven games this season with an ERA of 3.08 and a WHIP of 0.97. In 38 innings pitched this season, Javier has conceded 23 hits with 13 runs, 44 strikeouts, and 14 walks.

Yordan Alvarez leads Houston with a batting average of .348 with an OBP of .376 and a slugging percentage of .598. Yurri Gurriel leads the team with a total of 31 RBIs while also hitting seven home runs with a batting average of .322. Meanwhile, Kyle Tucker has nine homers to lead the team while also producing a total of 27 RBIs.

Houston ranks 2nd in the league in runs scored with 216. They have the league’s best batting average at .266. The Astros are also ranked 3rd in OBP at .333 and 2nd in slugging percentage at .422. The Houston pitching staff has an ERA of 3.76, 11 best in the league, and a WHIP of 1.17.

Oakland Athletics

The Oakland Athletics host the Astros after winning their last three series. Oakland defeated the Tampa Bay Rays, Boston Red Sox, and the Minnesota Twins 2-1. The A’s are still on top of the American League team standings with a record of 25-17 but they are just one-half game behind the streaking Astros.

Sean Manea will open on top of the mound for the A’s. The 29-year old right-hander has a record of 3-2 in 8 starts. Manea has an ERA of 4.4 and a WHIP of 1.28. He has pitched in a total of 43 innings and has allowed a total of 21 runs on 46 hits with 45 strikeouts and nine walks.

Matt Olson leads the A’s in batting average at .267 while also having an OBP of .349 and slugging percentage of .534. He is also the team leader with 25 RBIs and 9 home runs on the season. Jed Lowrie has 35 hits and 23 RBIs while Mark Canha has a total of 37 hits with seven home runs on the season.

Oakland is 15th in the league in scoring with 175 runs scored this season. The A’s are just 26th in batting average at .223, 20th in OBP at .308, and 16th in slugging percentage at .394 on the season. Their pitching staff has an ERA of 4.11 and a WHIP of 1.28. They are only 22nd in BAA at .249.

Who Wins?

Houston is 6-0 in their last six games played and 5-0 in their last five games after a win. The Astros are 6-0 in their last six games played on grass, 42-14 in their last 56 games after an off day, 66-26 in their last 92 Game 1s played, and 20-8 in their last 28 games played against the American League West.

Oakland is 6-3 SU in their last nine games played and 13-5 SU in their last 18 games played at home. The A’s are 4-0 in their last four Game 1s of a series, 5-0 in their last five games after an off day, 5-1 in their last six Tuesday games, 7-1 in their last eight home games against a right-handed starter, and 9-3 in their last 12 games against an opponent with a winning record.

The Astros swept the A’s in their four-game season series opener on the road but Oakland won the last two in Houston. Heading to this game, Houston is the hotter team but their wins have come at home and they are just one game above .500 on the road this season.

Manea was smoked in his last assignment but was solid in his last start against the Astros. Meanwhile, Javier has given up a total of 11 runs in his last three starts and Oakland should be able to get to him in this game. As long as Manea pitches a decent output, the A’s should win this game.

Prediction: Oakland Athletics -107

Over/Under Betting

The total has gone over in four out of the last five games played by Houston. The over is 4-2 in their last six games played on the road, 4-1 in their last five games against the American League, 4-0-1 in their last five games against a left-handed starter, 9-2 in their last 11 Tuesday games, and 4-0-1 in their last five games against an opponent with a winning record.

The over is 7-1 in the A’s last eight games in their last eight games when their opponent scores five or more runs in their previous game, 4-1 in their last five games against a right-handed starter, and 7-2 in their last nine games against the American League West. The total has gone over in five out of Oakland’s last seven games after an off day. The over is also 13-6 in their last 19 games when their opponent scores two or fewer runs in their previous game.

Head to head, the total has gone over in seven out of the last nine meetings between these two teams. The over is also 4-0 in their last four meetings in Oakland.

During their opening series, each of the four games played went over the total. These are two teams who have a solid offensive lineup, especially the Astros who rank second in the league in runs scored. Manea was lit up for seven runs in only two innings during his last outing while Javier has allowed 11 runs in his last three starts and I expect him to struggle in this game. Don’t look for a pitcher’s duel in this season opener. Give me the plus money and go for the over.

Prediction: Over 8