Oakland Athletics vs Houston Astros Prediction, 10/2/2021 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Oakland Athletics vs Houston Astros

Date: Saturday, October 2, 2021

Location: Minute Maid Park in Houston, TX

TV: AT&T SportsNet Southwest

Odds/Point Spread: Oakland (+140) Houston (-175)

Jake Odorizzi and the Houston Astros (93-66, 1st in AL West) host the Oakland Athletics (85-74, 3rd in AL West) at Minute Maid Park on Saturday. The line on this matchup has the Athletics coming in at +140 and the Astros are at -175. The over/under is set at 9.5. The starting pitchers will be Paul Blackburn and Jake Odorizzi.

The Athletics have accounted for 268 doubles as a squad and have knocked 193 balls out of the park. Oakland has a slugging percentage of .405 and have been rung up 1,323 times, while taking a walk on 537 occasions. As a team, the Oakland Athletics are scoring 4.6 runs per game, which has them sitting at 12th in baseball. They have accounted for 681 runs batted in and 1,257 hits on the year, and their team batting average is at .238. They have accounted for 725 runs while holding a team OBP of .317.

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The Athletics have a team ERA of 3.95 for the season (11th in MLB), and the staff has rung up 1,311 batters. They have walked 431 opposing batters and their FIP is 4.03 as a squad over the course of the season. They have earned a K/BB ratio of 3.04 and the pitching staff has recorded a WHIP of 1.25. Athletics pitchers have allowed 182 home runs and 664 runs in total (12th in the league).

Athletics pitchers have entered the game with opponents on base 118 times and also have had 144 appearances in high leverage situations. The relief pitchers have a total of 69 holds so far this year (23rd in baseball). The Athletics bullpen have recorded a save percentage of 57.6% and stepped onto the hill in 135 save situations. They have 38 saves over the course of the season and have not converted 28 of 66 chances to save the game. The relief pitchers have inherited 174 runners this season and 35.6% of those players ended up scoring. The Athletics have sent 494 relief pitchers to the mound so far this year.

The Oakland Athletics are sitting with 4,223 putouts at this point in the season, as well as 1,290 assists and 71 errors. Their fielding percentage is holding steady at .987 which is 5th in MLB, and they have turned 1,079 double plays. The Athletics have transformed 69.9% of balls hit into play into outs out of 12,669 innings on the field, ranking them 11th in pro baseball.

Blackburn (6-10 career win-loss record) holds a FIP of 4.44 while going up against 589 batters in the major leagues. He has given up 160 hits (10.6 hits per nine innings) and has had 37 walks. His ERA is 5.43 (82 earned runs allowed) and he has a career WHIP of 1.449. Blackburn has taken the mound for 136 innings and is sitting with 75 K's so far in his MLB career.

The Astros have a team slugging percentage of .440 and they score 5.28 runs per outing (2nd in baseball). They have hit 293 doubles, while walking 561 times as well as recording 840 runs. Houston has knocked in 212 home runs on the campaign as well as 811 RBIs. They have been called out on strikes on 1,201 occasions (30th in the league) and have a total of 1,458 hits. The Houston Astros are sitting with an on-base percentage of .338 as well as a team batting average of .266 over the course of the season.

The Houston pitching staff have surrendered 640 runs on the season while having an ERA of 3.73 (587 earned runs surrendered). They have conceded 181 home runs and they allow 4.06 runs per 9 innings (5th in the league). The Astros are sitting with a team WHIP of 1.229 and have a FIP of 4.09 as a unit for the year. They currently have a K/BB ratio of 2.64 (1,430 strikeouts vs 541 bases on balls). They sit at 5th in the league as a pitching staff in total hits surrendered with 1,202.

Houston bullpen pitchers have an inherited score percentage of 36.5% out of 200 inherited base runners. Their relief pitchers have come in 164 times in high leverage situations in addition to 136 occasions with runners on base. Sitting with 128 save situations, the Astros have accrued 67 holds and 26 blown saves. They are ranked 23rd in the league with a save percentage of 56.7%, and they have sent 502 relievers to the hill over the course of the season. Houston has had bullpen pitchers take the mound in 60 save chances and they have come away with 34 saves.

The Houston Astros have turned 125 double plays and have earned a fielding percentage of .988 (1st in the majors). The Astros have racked up 1,406 assists, 66 errors and are sitting with 4,254 putouts for the year. Out of their 12,762 innings on the diamond, the Astros have earned a defensive efficiency of 71.4% (3rd in the majors).

Odorizzi (68-63 win-loss record in his career) has a 3.94 earned run average while surrendering 8.1 hits per 9 innings. His K/BB ratio is 2.77 and he has faced 4,803 batters during his MLB career. He has allowed 500 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.239 and a FIP of 4.2. So far in his career, Odorizzi has surrendered 1,024 hits and he has 1,083 K's in 1,142 innings pitched.

Who will win tonight's MLB game ATS?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Oakland (+140)

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