Athletics Have the Pitching Edge Over Astros

Get your popcorn ready. One of the most heated rivalries in the major leagues enters a new chapter Monday when the Houston Astros face the Oakland Athletics in Game 1 of their American League Division Series at Dodger Stadium. The Athletics get the edge from oddsmakers heading into the best-of-five after winning seven of 10 meetings during the regular season.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

The Athletics opened the betting for Game 1 as a slight favorite at -110, with the Astros installed at +100; Oakland’s line can now be found between -140 and -150 in most spots. The total of 8 has remained unchanged.

Starting Pitchers Analysis

The Astros send enigmatic right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. (3-3, 3.93 ERA in 2020) to the hill. He didn’t pitch in the wild-card series win over Minnesota but had a strong finish to the regular season, boasting a 1.53 ERA with 24 strikeouts over 17.2 September innings. McCullers held Oakland to one earned run over six innings in their only previous meeting in 2020.

Oakland counters with Chris Bassitt (5-2, 2.29), who has been absolutely outstanding down the stretch. The veteran righty posted a minuscule 0.34 ERA in his four regular-season September starts and held Chicago to a lone run over seven dominant innings in the wild-card series. Bassitt went 1-1 with a 2.65 ERA in three appearances vs Houston during the season.

Houston News & Notes

Let’s get the juicy stuff out of the way: the Astros are seeking their fourth straight ALCS appearance and would love nothing more than to get there by beating the team that employs the pitcher (Mike Fiers) who blew the whistle on their sign-stealing activity. The animosity between the teams spilled over into the shortened season, with their August fracas resulting in multiple suspensions. 

On the field, the Astros are a shell of the team that advanced to the AL Championship Series three straight years; after leading the majors with a .274 team batting average in 2019, Houston batted just .240 in 60 games en route to a 29-31 record. Things were even worse in their first-round series against Minnesota, as they advanced despite posting an ugly .194 average.

Oakland News & Notes

The Athletics rebounded nicely from a Game 1 clunker vs the White Sox, pulling out 5-3 and 6-4 victories to reach the American League Division Series for the first time since 2013. They did so on the strength of some timely hitting: all six of their runs in the clincher came with two outs, capped by Chad Pinder’s two-run single in the fifth inning that put Oakland ahead for good.

The Athletics were the top UNDER option in the American League West during the regular season at 26-32-2, which is no surprise when you examine their team stats. It was a tough year offensively for the A’s, who finished 26th in batting average (.225) and 15th in on-base percentage (.322). But on the mound, Oakland finished with the No. 5 ERA (3.77) and was 10th in WHIP (1.23).

Betting Pick: Oakland (-140)

The Athletics showed signs of life at the plate against the White Sox, and that gives us hope that they’ll be able to do enough on offense to support a terrific pitching staff, anchored by the red-hot Bassitt.