Oakland Athletics vs Houston Astros Prediction, 8/28/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Oakland Athletics vs Houston Astros

Date: Friday, August 28, 2020

Location: Minute Maid Park in Houston, TX

TV: ATSW/NSCA

Odds/Point Spread: Athletics (-235) Astros (+195)

Minute Maid Park is the site where Jose Altuve and the Houston Astros (17-14, 2nd in AL West) will play the Oakland Athletics (22-10, 1st in AL West) on Friday. The Athletics open this contest at -235 while the Astros are priced at +195. The O/U opens at 9. The expected starting pitchers will be Chris Bassitt and Lance McCullers Jr.

Key Oakland Athletics Injuries

8/27/2020 Matt Chapman 3B Head Expected to be out until at least Aug 28
8/21/2020 Burch Smith RP Forearm Expected to be out until at least Sep 22
8/10/2020 A.J RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Sep 1

Key Houston Astros Injuries

8/27/2020 Aledmys Diaz DH Groin Expected to be out until at least Aug 28
8/26/2020 George Springer CF Elbow Expected to be out until at least Aug 28
8/25/2020 Chris Devenski RP Arm Expected to be out until at least Sep 2
8/25/2020 Brad Peacock SP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Sep 2
8/24/2020 Alex Bregman 3B Hamstring Expected to be out until at least Sep 12
8/23/2020 Yordan Alvarez DH Knee Out for the season
8/23/2020 Jose Urquidy SP Undisclosed Expected to be out until at least Aug 28
8/22/2020 Josh James RP Hip Expected to be out until at least Sep 1
8/16/2020 Rogelio Armenteros RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 1
8/12/2020 Roberto Osuna RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 20
8/7/2020 Austin Pruitt RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 15
7/26/2020 Justin Verlander SP Forearm Expected to be out until at least Sep 15

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Athletics have a 22-10 overall record this season. Bassitt (16-20 career record) sits with a FIP of 4.14 while going up against 1,586 batters in the major leagues. His ERA is 3.76 (154 ER's allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.279. He has surrendered 339 hits (8.3 hits per 9 innings) and has 132 walks. Bassitt has taken the mound for 368 innings and has accounted for 318 strikeouts thus far in his career. The bullpen has an earned run average of 1.88 and they have given up 92 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .176 against the bullpen and they've struck out 137 hitters and walked 43 batters. As a team, Oakland allows 8 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.4 batters per nine innings. They are 3rd in the league in team earned run average at 3.35. The Athletics pitchers collectively have given up 258 base hits and 108 earned runs. They have allowed 31 home runs this season, ranking them 27th in the league. Oakland as a pitching staff has walked 96 batters and struck out 270. They have walked 3 men per 9 innings while striking out 8.4 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.22 and their FIP as a unit is 3.77.

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Hitting Statistics

As a team Oakland is hitting .223, good for 25th in the league. The Athletics hold a .408 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .325, which is good for 14th in baseball. They rank 24th in MLB with 7.4 hits per game. Matt Olson is hitting .178 with an on-base percentage of .307. He has 21 hits this season in 118 at bats with 22 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .449 and an OPS+ of 109. Mark Canha is hitting .278 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .404. He has totaled 30 hits and he has driven in 21 men in 108 at bats. His OPS+ is 139 while his slugging percentage is at .444. The Athletics have 236 hits, including 46 doubles and 45 home runs. Oakland has walked 138 times so far this season and they have struck out 322 times as a unit. They have left 216 men on base and have a team OPS of .733. They score 4.97 runs per contest and have scored a total of 159 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

McCullers (31-24 win-loss record in his career) is the owner of a 3.80 ERA and has surrendered 8.0 hits per nine innings. His strikeout to walk ratio is 2.81 and he has gone up against 2,046 hitters so far in his career. Thus far in his career, McCullers has given up 429 base knocks while he has accumulated 534 K's in 485 frames. He has given up a total of 205 earned runs while holding a WHIP of 1.276 and having a FIP of 3.4. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.40 and they have given up 124 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .220 against the Astros bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 127 batters and walked 74 opposing hitters. As a team, Houston allows 8 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.6 batters per nine innings. They are 11th in the league in team earned run average at 4.29. The Astros pitchers as a team have surrendered 251 base knocks and 134 earned runs this season. They have given up 36 home runs this year, which ranks 21st in Major League Baseball. Houston as a staff has walked 135 hitters and struck out 270 batters. They give up a walk 4.3 times per 9 innings while they strike out 8.6 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.37 while their FIP as a staff is 4.51.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .244, good for 18th in the league. The Astros hold a .418 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .326, which is good for 13th in baseball. They rank 12th in MLB with 8.3 hits per contest. Jose Altuve comes into this matchup batting .206 with an OBP of .275. He has 26 hits this year along with 12 RBI in 126 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .317 with an OPS+ of 59. Yuli Gurriel is hitting .296 this season and he has an OBP of .352. He has collected 34 hits in 115 at bats while driving in 13 runs. He has an OPS+ of 131 and a slugging percentage of .522. The Astros as a unit have 258 base hits, including 62 doubles and 35 homers. Houston has walked 118 times this year and they have struck out on 237 occasions. They have had 202 men left on base and have an OPS of .744. They have scored 5.35 runs per game and totaled 166 runs this season.

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

Josh's Pick: Take the Astros (+195)

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