The Oakland Athletics (52-91) take one of the weakest offenses in MLB on the road to face the Houston Astros (93-50) at Minute Maid Park on Thursday for the first of a four-game series. The Athletics are in the midst of a six-game road trip. They split their last series against the Rangers, taking the finale 8-7 on Wednesday at Globe Life Field. Tony Kemp was 1 for 3 with a home run and two RBIs, extending his on-base streak to 14 games. Dermis Garcia added a solo home run. The Astros are coming off a three-game sweep of the Tigers, taking the finale 2-1 on Wednesday at Comerica Park for their fourth straight win. Kyle Tucker went 2 for 4 with a solo home run.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
The Astros have won nine of 15 in the season series between the AL West rivals, including a 6-3 victory in their most recent meeting on August 14 at Minute Maid Park. Starter Cristian Javier threw six scoreless innings- striking out six – to get the win, and Ryan Pressly pitched 0.2 scoreless innings to pick up his 23rd save.
ON THE MOUND
James Kaprielian (3-9, 4.88 ERA) is in line to take the mound for Oakland. The RHP allowed five runs (two earned) over 5.2 innings in his last start, a 5-1 home defeat against the Nationals on August 31. He took the loss, yielding seven hits while striking out three and walking one. Kaprielian is making his first appearance against the Astros this season. Kaprielian made one appearance against the Astros in 2021, a 10-4 road loss on October 2. He surrendered two runs on three hits over 3.1 innings, striking out five and walking one. Right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. (3-1, 2.08 ERA) will toe the rubber for Houston. He has made one prior start against the Athletics this season, holding opposing hitters scoreless over six innings in an 8-0 home win on August 13. He gave up two hits and walked four, while striking out five in the win. In his last start on Friday, McCullers Jr. got the win at home against the Angels. He threw seven innings and gave up two runs on four hits, striking out six and walking one in the 4-3 triumph.
AT THE PLATE
The Oakland offense is averaging 3.5 runs per game for the season, second lowest in the league, with a slash line of .217/.281/.348. Sean Murphy leads the team in OPS at .767. The catcher is slashing .251/.331/.436 with 18 home runs, 64 RBIs, and 60 runs over 131 games. Over the last five games, though, Oakland has averaged 6.0 runs a game while performing better across the board (.247/.296/.425). Against right-handed pitchers like McCullers Jr. this season, the A’s have a .626 OPS, second lowest in MLB. Seth Brown is the team’s strongest hitter against right-handers with a .775 OPS in 367 at-bats. Houston is slashing .246/.320/.420 for the season and averaging 4.5 runs per game. Four Astros hitters have an OPS of .800 or better, led by Yordan Alvarez (1.000). The left fielder has 33 home runs, 84 RBIs, and 84 runs scored with a slash line of .295/.403/.598. Houston is averaging 5.6 runs per game in the last five with an improved slash line (.282/.346/.483). The ‘Stros have a .730 OPS against right-handers in 2022. With a .918 OPS over 317 at-bats, Alex Bregman has been their best hitter against right-handers.
HOME AND AWAY
Oakland is 29-42 in away games in 2022, scoring 4.0 runs per game while allowing 4.5 runs. Houston has gone 47-22 at Minute Maid Park this season, averaging 4.5 runs per game while surrendering 3.2. In the last 10 games between the teams at Minute Maid Park, Houston is 6-4 with an average scoreline of 5.4-3.7.
STANDINGS UPDATE
The Astros lead the AL West by 12 games over the Mariners. Their magic number in the division is eight. The Athletics are fifth in the AL West, 41 games behind the Astros.
SportsTips’ MLB Pick:
Houston Astros (-300)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
