<p>
AL West rivals clash when the Astros and A's open a four-game series in Oakland Thursday night. Houston still owns a big lead in the divisional race with the A's, but Oakland is still right in the thick of the AL wild-card race. Who do we like here for our free MLB pick?
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<h2>
MLB Betting Odds<br />
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<p>
Thursday's MLB betting odds opened Houston at around -125 over Oakland, with an over/under of 9.5 runs. Early betting action then dipped the Astros to -120.
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<h2>
Astros vs. A's Set-Up<br />
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<p>
Houston just dropped two of three games to the White Sox in Chicago, losing Wednesday's series rubber match 13-9. Just before that, the Astros lost the last game of a three-game series in Baltimore. So Houston is 1-3 over its previous four games.
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<p>
Oakland, meanwhile, just split two games in San Francisco, winning Wednesday's series finale 9-5. Just before that, the A's took two of three from the White Sox. So Oakland is 3-2 over its last five games.
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<p>
At 78-43 overall Houston leads the AL West by 9.5 games over 68-52 Oakland. The Astros also trail the Yankees by 2.5 games in the battle for the best record in the American League, but they're 5.5 games up on Minnesota in the race for the No. 2 spot.
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<p>
The A's, meanwhile, also trail Tampa Bay by just two games for the second AL wild-card spot.
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<p>
Houston leads the season series with Oakland nine games to two.
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<h2>
Thursday's Starting Arms<br />
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<p>
Former Astro <a href="https://www.sportsbettingstats.com/mlb/pitcherlog/40251&quot; title="Mike Fiers Pitching Logs">Fiers</a>, by our stringent standards, is 14/24 on quality starts this season and three for his last four. Last Friday he held the White Sox scoreless on three hits through seven innings of a 7-0 A's victory, and over his previous four starts, he's allowed just five runs and 19 hits through 26 1/3 innings.
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<p>
Oakland is 15-9 with Fiers this season, 4-0 over his last four starts.
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<p>
Over three starts already this season against the Astros Fiers allowed ten runs and 17 hits through 16 innings. The A's lost two of those three games.
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<p>
<a href="https://www.sportsbettingstats.com/mlb/pitcherlog/57430&quot; title="Aaron Sanchez Pitching Logs">Sanchez</a> is just 4/25 on quality starts this year but three outs away from being 2/2 since coming to Houston in a trade with Toronto a couple of weeks ago. Last Saturday he held Baltimore to one run and three hits through five innings of that 23-2 Astros romp, and just before that he tossed six innings of hitless and scoreless ball against Seattle.
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<p>
The Blue Jays went just 6-17 with Sanchez this season, but Houston is 2-0 with him.
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<p>
Over two starts this season against Oakland while with Toronto Sanchez allowed just two runs – one earned – and four hits through nine innings. The Jays won both those games.
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<h2>
Thursday's Batting Splits<br />
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<p>
Houston is batting .271/.343/.480 against right-handed pitching this season. Numbers like those help this unit rank among the top four lineups in Baseball in this split.
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<p>
Oakland is batting .239/319/.423 against RH pitching this season.
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<h2>
The Bullpens<br />
</h2>
<p>
The Astros bullpen owns a 3.80 ERA this season and a 1.21 WHIP while holding foes to a .693 OPS. Numbers like those are why we rank this unit among the top five bullpens in MLB.
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<p>
The A's pen owns a 4.13 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP while allowing a .716 OPS.
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<h2>
Totals Report<br />
</h2>
<ul>
<li>
Unders are 64-52 in Astros games this season.
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<li>
Unders are 64-55 in A's games this season.
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<li>
Unders are 33-27 in games played at the Oakland Coliseum this season.
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<li>
Unders are 7-4 in Astros-A's games this season.
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<li>
Unders are a combined 27-22 with Fiers and Sanchez this season.
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</ul>
<p><section></p>
<ul>
<li>
<span style="font-size:16px;"><b><span style="color:#008000;">Get more details:</span></b> <a class="advblue" href="https://www.sportsbettingstats.com/mlb/matchup/1082358">Houston at Oakland MLB Match-up Stats</a> </span>
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</ul>
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