The Oakland Athletics continue their surge up the American League standings and after taking three of four games in Houston, the A’s have won 19 of their last 25 games and are five games back of the second wild-card spot. They’ll now face another test in San Francisco as the Giants will have their workhorse Madison Bumgarner on the hill to try to shut down the rising Athletics. The Giants are 3-1 SU and ATS in their last four games with MadBum on the mound and he owns an impressive 2.05 ERA in four home starts this season. San Fran opened as a -140 favorite to take the first game of the three-game series.
- Oakland is the second-highest scoring team on the road in MLB at 5.51 runs per game.
- Oakland has won 13 of its last 15 games.
- The OVER has hit in nine of the last 11 games in this matchup.
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Road Wins have Become Commonplace for Athletics
Since an awful start to the season when Oakland went 4-9 SU in its first 13 games, the A’s have started to push back instead of being a doormat in the American League. The Athletics have won 13 of their last 15 games and are mashing the ball in away games as they’ve launched themselves to second in MLB at 5.51 runs per game in opposing ballparks.
Run support is key for winning on the road in baseball and when Edwin Jackson takes the mound, Oakland is averaging just over six runs per game. Eddie has been excellent since getting in the green and yellow with a 2.45 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP in three starts. However, before bettors rush to their bookie and thinking that wagering on the A’s is a slam dunk, they should note that he owns a 4.71 ERA in 11 career starts vs the Giants.
Speaking of the G-Men, they’ll rely on southpaw Madison Bumgarner to right the ship and after a couple of rough outings to start his 2018 campaign, he has started to turn the corner. Bumgarner has limited teams to a total of six earned runs over his last four starts, pushing the Giants to 3-1 SU and ATS in those games. San Francisco is only three games back of the NL West Division lead so a win tonight could help make a push for the postseason. The only knock on MadBum is that he’s been busted up when facing the Athletics to the tune of a 5.18 ERA and 1.45 WHIP in five career starts.
San Francisco has owned the Battle of the Bay
Although Oakland may be the hottest team in baseball, the A’s seem to have trouble with their neighbors across the Golden Gate Bridge. The Athletics have dropped 17 of their last 23 games when traveling to AT&T Park with an average loss margin of 3.6 runs per game. While it’s worth taking these stats with a grain of salt because the games go back to 2009, history may play a part in how Oakland responds to the three-time World Series champions.
OVER Bettors Love When These Teams Face Each Other
The total opened at 7.5 and trends are pointing to an OVER. The OVER has hit in nine of the last 11 games in this matchup with an average combined score of 13.6 runs per game. If you consider how well Oakland has been hitting on the road lately, the OVER may be the profitable angle in this tilt.
