Houston Astros vs Oakland Athletics Prediction, 7/8/2022 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Houston Astros vs Oakland Athletics

Date: Friday, July 8, 2022

Location: Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, CA

TV: NBC Sports California

Oakland Coliseum is the location where the Oakland Athletics (28-56) will compete against the Houston Astros (53-28) on Friday. The pitchers taking the mound are Jose Urquidy and Paul Blackburn.

The Astros have tallied 131 doubles as a squad and have hit 119 balls out of the park. Houston is slugging .429 and have been rung up 601 times, while being walked on 288 occasions. As a unit, the Houston Astros are notching 4.5 runs per contest, which has them sitting at 12th in MLB. They have tallied 355 RBI's in addition to 648 hits over the course of the season, while their batting average comes in at .241. They have racked up 363 runs scored while holding a team OBP of .320.

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The Astros have a team earned run average of 3.02 so far this season (3rd in baseball), and the staff has struck out 712 hitters. They have walked 237 opposing hitters and their FIP is 3.60 as a squad so far this year. They have a strikeout to walk ratio of 3.00 and the pitching staff has earned a collective WHIP of 1.11. Astros pitchers have surrendered 74 home runs and 273 runs in total (3rd in the league).

The Astros relief pitchers have accumulated a save rate of 80.0% and has stepped onto the mound in 83 save situations. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 79 base runners this year with 25.3% of them ended up scoring. Astros relief pitchers have come into the game with runners on 53 times in addition to having 80 appearances in high leverage situations. The Astros have sent 246 relief pitchers to the hill on the campaign. The relief pitchers have a total of 53 holds on the campaign (6th in MLB). They have recorded 24 saves for the season and have blown 6 of their 30 save chances.

The Astros have turned 72.6% of baseballs in play into outs out of 6,459 innings, which ranks them 2nd in professional baseball. The Houston Astros have a tally of 2,153 putouts this season, in addition to 644 assists and 40 errors. Their fielding percentage is holding steady at .986 which has them ranked 12th in professional baseball, and they have twisted 61 double plays.

Urquidy has taken the mound for 258 frames and has 210 punch outs during his MLB career. Urquidy (18-8 record in his career) is the owner of a FIP of 4.32 while he has gone up against 1,053 hitters during his time in the major leagues. His ERA is 3.73 (107 ER's allowed) and his career WHIP is 1.116. He has surrendered 235 base hits (8.2 hits per nine innings) and has 53 free passes.

Oakland has hit 60 home runs on the campaign and 246 runs batted in. They have hit 129 two-baggers, while taking a walk 212 times and scoring 266 runs. The Oakland Athletics have accounted for an OBP of .274 and a team batting average of .211 this year. The Athletics have a team slugging percentage of .329 and they score 3.17 runs per contest (30th in the league). They have been rung up on 707 instances (10th in the league) and have accounted for 576 hits.

The Oakland pitching staff have conceded 377 runs on the campaign while holding an ERA of 4.30 (350 earned runs given up). They have given up 93 home runs and they allow 4.63 runs per 9 innings (22nd in MLB). The Athletics hold a team WHIP of 1.330 and have a FIP of 4.30 as a unit so far this year. Their K/BB ratio is 2.30 (628 strikeouts vs 273 free passes). They are currently ranked 22nd in the league as a pitching staff in total hits conceded with 702.

Oakland has had relief pitchers enter the contest in 32 save chances and they have earned 18 saves. They are currently ranked 26th in baseball holding a save rate of 56.3%, and they have sent 285 relievers to the mound over the course of the season. Their bullpen pitchers have stepped onto the mound 90 times in high leverage situations and on 103 occasions with base runners. Oakland relievers have an inherited score percentage of 29.4% out of 160 inherited runners. Sitting with 86 save situations, the Athletics have tallied 52 holds in addition to 14 blown saves.

The Oakland Athletics have turned 74 double plays and have a fielding percentage of .982 (23rd in pro baseball). The Athletics have racked up 762 assists, 53 errors and have accounted for 2,200 putouts so far this year. In 6,600 innings played, the Athletics have earned a defensive efficiency of 69.6% (15th in pro baseball).

Thus far in his career, Blackburn has allowed 246 hits while earning 144 strikeouts in 225 frames. He has conceded a total of 116 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.360 and having a FIP of 4.2. His K/BB ratio is 2.40 and he has faced 959 opposing batters so far in his pro baseball career. Blackburn (12-14 win-loss mark in his career) holds a 4.64 earned run average and has allowed 9.8 hits per 9 innings.

Who will win tonight's MLB game against the spread or moneyline?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Oakland

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