Houston Astros vs Oakland Athletics Prediction, 9/8/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Houston Astros vs Oakland Athletics

Date: Tuesday, September 8, 2020

Location: Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, CA

TV: ATSW/NSCA

Odds/Point Spread: Astros (+103) Athletics (-113)

Matt Olson and the Oakland Athletics (23-14, 1st in AL West) play the Houston Astros (21-19, 2nd in AL West) at Oakland Coliseum on Tuesday. The odds on this contest have the Astros coming in at +103 and the Athletics are at -113. The O/U opens at 9. The men taking the mound are Zack Greinke and Chris Bassitt.

Key Houston Astros Injuries

9/6/2020 Lance McCullers SP Neck Expected to be out until at least Sep 15
9/6/2020 Alex Bregman 3B Hamstring Expected to be out until at least Sep 7
9/6/2020 Josh Reddick RF Elbow Probable for Sep 7
9/5/2020 Jose Altuve 2B Knee Expected to be out until at least Sep 15
9/5/2020 Rogelio Armenteros RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 23
9/4/2020 Austin Pruitt RP Elbow Out for the season
9/3/2020 Josh James RP Hip Expected to be out until at least Sep 17
9/1/2020 Justin Verlander SP Forearm Expected to be out until at least Sep 18
8/23/2020 Yordan Alvarez DH Knee Out for the season
8/12/2020 Roberto Osuna RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 20

Key Oakland Athletics Injuries

9/6/2020 Matt Chapman 3B Hip Expected to be out until at least Sep 8
9/6/2020 Marcus Semien SS Side Expected to be out until at least Sep 8
9/4/2020 A.J RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Sep 9
9/3/2020 Daniel Mengden RP Illness Expected to be out until at least Sep 12
8/21/2020 Burch Smith RP Forearm Expected to be out until at least Sep 22

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Astros have a 21-19 overall record this season. Greinke (208-123 career mark) sits with a FIP of 3.45 while facing 11,911 opposing hitters in the majors. His earned run average is 3.35 (1,085 earned runs allowed) and his WHIP is 1.156. He has allowed 2,699 base knocks (8.3 hits per nine innings) and has 674 free passes. Greinke has taken the hill for 2,918 innings and is sitting with 2,666 strikeouts during his pro baseball career. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.52 and they have given up 146 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .212 against the bullpen and they've struck out 160 hitters and walked 92 batters. As a team, Houston allows 8.2 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.7 batters per nine innings. They are 15th in the league in team earned run average at 4.51. The Astros pitchers collectively have given up 322 base hits and 178 earned runs. They have allowed 48 home runs this season, ranking them 23rd in the league. Houston as a pitching staff has walked 168 batters and struck out 345. They have walked 4.3 men per 9 innings while striking out 8.7 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.38 and their FIP as a unit is 4.55.

Related: Get MLB predictions on all of today's games

Hitting Statistics

As a team Houston is hitting .251, good for 14th in the league. The Astros hold a .434 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .326, which is good for 17th in baseball. They rank 12th in MLB with 8.5 hits per game. Kyle Tucker is hitting .284 with an on-base percentage of .338. He has 40 hits this season in 141 at bats with 37 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .596 and an OPS+ of 145. Michael Brantley is hitting .303 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .378. He has totaled 30 hits and he has driven in 19 men in 99 at bats. His OPS+ is 136 while his slugging percentage is at .505. The Astros have 339 hits, including 79 doubles and 49 home runs. Houston has walked 137 times so far this season and they have struck out 303 times as a unit. They have left 254 men on base and have a team OPS of .760. They score 5.4 runs per contest and have scored a total of 216 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Oakland has a 23-14 overall mark this year. In his career, Bassitt has given up 345 hits and he has 320 K's in 371 innings pitched. He has surrendered 158 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.293 and being the owner of a FIP of 4.2. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.37 and he has gone up against 1,604 batters so far in his career. Bassitt (16-21 career win-loss record) is the owner of a 3.83 earned run average and has allowed 8.4 hits per nine innings. The bullpen has an earned run average of 2.20 and they have given up 115 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .191 against the Athletics bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 156 batters and walked 45 opposing hitters. As a team, Oakland allows 8.4 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.4 batters per nine innings. They are 4th in the league in team earned run average at 3.66. The Athletics pitchers as a team have surrendered 308 base knocks and 134 earned runs this season. They have given up 39 home runs this year, which ranks 29th in Major League Baseball. Oakland as a staff has walked 106 hitters and struck out 309 batters. They give up a walk 2.9 times per 9 innings while they strike out 8.4 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.26 while their FIP as a staff is 3.88.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .225, good for 26th in the league. The Athletics hold a .405 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .322, which is good for 20th in baseball. They rank 26th in MLB with 7.3 hits per contest. Matt Olson comes into this matchup batting .195 with an OBP of .323. He has 26 hits this year along with 26 RBI in 133 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .451 with an OPS+ of 113. Mark Canha is hitting .258 this season and he has an OBP of .403. He has collected 31 hits in 120 at bats while driving in 21 runs. He has an OPS+ of 128 and a slugging percentage of .408. The Athletics as a unit have 271 base hits, including 54 doubles and 49 homers. Oakland has walked 149 times this year and they have struck out on 367 occasions. They have had 241 men left on base and have an OPS of .727. They have scored 4.73 runs per game and totaled 175 runs this season.

Who will win tonight's Astros/Athletics MLB game against the spread?

Guy's Pick: Take the Astros (+103)

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