Athletics vs Astros Prediction & MLB Odds For Thursday, September 12th

Thursday’s matchup between the Athletics and Astros is set to get started at 2:10 PM ET from Minute Maid Park in Houston. The Astros are the heavy favorite on the money line, with their odds sitting at -245 compared to the Athletics at +204. The over/under line is currently at 8 runs.

Oakland will be looking to keep their two-game winning streak alive, as they are 64-82 and in 4th place in the AL West. Houston is 77-68 overall and will be sending Framber Valdez to the mound vs. a Mitch Spence for the Athletics.

Betting Odds & Lines for this Game

• Spread: Athletics 1.5 (-111) | Astros -1.5 (-111)
• Total: 8
• MoneyLine: Athletics +204 | Astros -245

All Odds are courtesy of (BetMGM | DraftKings | Fanduel | BetRivers)

Athletics vs. Astros Prediction: Moneyline

It was a low-scoring game in the most recent game of this A’s vs Astros series. Oakland went into the matchup as +199 underdogs and squeaked out a 5-4 win. The A’s had a huge 6th inning, scoring three of their five runs. As for the Astros, they scored four of their five runs in the 2nd.

Oakland’s offense was led by Kyle McCann, Brent Rooker, and Max Schuemann, as they were the only three A’s hitters to have more than one hit. McCann and Rooker each homered, while Schuemann scored twice and drove in two runs while going 2/3.

Joey Estes pitched well for the A’s in this one, going 6 2/3 innings and striking out two without giving up a run. He picked up a win in the game, while Mason Miller got the save. Hunter Brown had a rough outing for the Astros, taking the loss.

Oakland is 64-82 overall, putting them 4th in the AL West, and they trail the Astros by 13.5 games for the division lead. The Athletics have gone 21-24 against other teams in the AL West. The Athletics have won two straight games, and they are 5-5 over their last 10 games.

At home, the Athletics are 36-39 this year, and they are 28-43 on the road. So far, they have been the underdog in all of their road games. As the underdog overall, the Athletics are 53-77 and 11-5 when favored. Oakland’s overall series record is 17-23-5, and they are currently up 2-0 in this series vs. the Astros.

Houston is looking to avoid getting swept by the Athletics today, as they trail Oakland by 3.5 games for the AL West lead. Overall, the Astros are 77-68 and lead the division by 3.5 games. They come in having lost three straight games, and they are 4-6 across their last ten games.

So far, the Astros have gone just 21-20 against other teams in the AL West. At home, they are 41-32 this season and an even 36-36 on the road. As the favorite, the Astros are 59-49 this year and 18-19 as the underdog.

Athletics vs. Astros Prediction: Over/Under

The Oakland Athletics are on the road today against the Houston Astros, with the over/under line set at 8 runs. The combined run average in Athletics games this season is 8.8 runs, and their over/under record is 68-76. The average over/under line in their games is 8 runs, and their over/under record when the line is set at 8 runs is 17-16-1. So far this season, 73 of their games have had over/under lines set at more than 8 runs, accounting for 50.0% of their games, while 39 games have had lines set at less than 8 runs, making up 26.7% of their games.

As a team, the Athletics are batting just .234 this season, which is 18th in the league. However, they do have the 5th most home runs in the league and are averaging 4.1 runs per game. Oakland’s offense has been pretty consistent, as they are averaging 4.0 runs per game on the road and 4.1 runs per game at home. The Athletics are also near the bottom of the league in terms of strikeouts.

Brent Rooker has been the Athletics’ top hitter this season, batting .299 with a team-high 35 home runs and 101 RBIs. He is also on a five-game hitting streak. Shea Langeliers is 2nd on the team in RBIs and has 25 homers, but he is batting just .223 for the season. Kyle McCann has gone 2/5 in his last two games, including a home run, while Zack Gelof is batting .333 over his last five games.

When the Houston Astros play at home, the over/under line is set at 8 runs. On average, Astros games have seen 8.6 runs scored per game this season. Overall, the over/under record for Houston games is 59-81, and their games have had an average over/under line of 9 runs. When the line is set at 8 runs, the over/under record is 12-13-2. In 60.7% of their games this season, the over/under line has been set higher than 8 runs.

Yordan Alvarez has been the Astros’ top hitter this season, batting .313 with a team-leading 32 home runs and 80 RBIs. Jose Altuve has also been swinging the bat well of late, going 14/36 in his last nine games. This stretch has seen him hit one home run and drive in five runs. Overall, Altuve is batting .302 with 19 homers.

As a team, the Astros are averaging 4.6 runs per game, which is 12th in the league. They have been slightly better at home, averaging 4.8 runs per contest. Overall, Houston is 3rd in the league in team batting average and have the 3rd fewest strikeouts in the league. As a team, they are 9th in home runs.

Athletics vs. Astros Prediction: Spread

As a road underdog, the Oakland Athletics have been a strong bet this season, going 75-55 against the run line. They have covered the run line in four straight games as the underdog and are 40-31 against the run line on the road this season. Their average run margin in winning games is +3.2, while their average run margin in losing games is -3.6.

Oakland is sending Mitch Spence to the mound today vs. the Astros, and he comes into the game with a record of 7-9 and an ERA of 4.42. So far this year, he has made 20 starts, and opponents are batting .257 off the right-hander. Spence has made 31 appearances this year and has turned in three quality starts. Looking back at his last outing, Spence finished with a no-decision after giving up one earned run in 4 1/3 innings of work. He has not taken a loss in his last three outings. Per nine innings, Spence is averaging 7.66 strikeouts and 2.83 walks.

When playing at home, the Astros have a run line record of 34-39, which is below .500. They have an average run margin of 1.0 at home, and their run line record as the favorite is 48-60. They have a losing streak against the run line at home, failing to cover in their last three games.

Framber Valdez gets the start for the Astros today and comes in with a record of 14-6 and an ERA of 2.98. Looking back at his last outing, Valdez was fantastic, going seven innings and not giving up a run. He only gave up two hits in that outing. Valdez has made 25 starts this year and has one complete game shutout. In total, he has 15 quality starts and is averaging 8.75 strikeouts per nine innings. For the season, Valdez has given up 11 homers and is averaging 2.86 walks per nine innings. At home, his ERA is 2.96 compared to 3.98 on the road.

Athletics vs. Astros Pick: Over 8 Runs -111

Our prediction for this Astros vs. Athletics matchup is to take the over, with the line sitting at 8 runs. Our predicted final score is 6-5 in favor of the Astros, giving us some wiggle room if you want to take the Astros on the money line.

Looking at the starting pitchers, Framber Valdez is projected to finish with five strikeouts compared to Mitch Spence at six. However, Valdez is projected to go longer in this one, finishing with a line of 6.1 innings compared to Spence at 4.2.