A key battle on the MLB odds menu sees visiting Houston duelling Oakland on Friday at O.co Coliseum.

The Athletics will rely on AJ Griffin to turn in a quality outing on the mound in this one, while Dallas Keuchel will be his counterpart for the Astros. AJ Griffin is 12-9 this season, and Dallas Keuchel is 5-6.



View Houston vs Oakland Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
Baseball odds makers, including Sportsbook, opened the Athletics as -260 moneyline favorites in this matchup. Over under bettors saw the number open at 7.5 at shops such as Sportsbook.

Power Rankings:
The Athletics sit at No. 7 in the American League in the current MLB power poll here at Odds Shark, while the Astros sit at an American League No. 15 on the same chart.



How They Match Up:
Rating these teams in several key categories is important for handicappers and Oakland has the American League's No. 5-rated offensive output, at 8.4 hits per game. The Astros average 8.1 hits per game, good for No. 15 on the American League list.

Oakland owns the American League's No. 2 defense, allowing 3.9 men per game to cross the plate. That contrasts with Houston's American League No. 15-rated defense.

Houston was a 3-2 Sportsbook in its last match on the road against the Athletics. They won as +248 underdogs, while the total score of 5 made Sportsbooks of UNDER bettors. The Astros grabbed a win last time out, defeating Sonny Gray and the Athletics 3-2 on Thursday at O.co Coliseum.




Houston Astros Trends:
When playing on Friday are 2-8
Before playing Oakland are 5-5
After playing Oakland are 5-5
After a win are 3-7

Oakland Athletics Trends:
When playing on Friday are 5-5
Before playing Houston are 6-4
After playing Houston are 6-4
After a loss are 7-3

A few Astros at Athletics trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Houston's last 5 games when playing Oakland
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Houston's last 10 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Houston's last 6 games on the road
Houston is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Oakland
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Oakland's last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Oakland's last 6 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Oakland's last 5 games when playing Houston
Oakland is 14-4 SU in its last 18 games when playing Houston


Next up:
Houston at Oakland, Saturday, September 7