Houston Astros vs Oakland Athletics Prediction, Odds and Preview - 09/25/2021

Game Time: 4:07 pm ET, Saturday September 25, 2021

Venue:  RingCentral Coliseum, Oakland, CA

Where to Watch:  NBCS-CA

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Astros -120, Athletics +100; Over/Under:  8 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Astros -135, Athletics +115; Over/Under:  8.5 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Astros -120, Athletics +100; Over/Under:  8 runs

 

Houston Astros:  91-62 (1st place, AL West)

Oakland Athletics:  82-71 (3rd place, AL West)

 

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Houston Astros:  7-3 last 10

Oakland Athletics:  5-5 last 10

 

 

 

The Astros are coming into this game after losing to the Angels in their series finale on Thursday. That loss snapped a 4 game winning streak that they were on. They are playing really well right now as they have won their last 5 series'. This will be the 2nd game of a three-game series against the Oakland Athletics with the series opener being on Friday, that result is still pending. Zack Greinke will be getting the nod for Friday's game while Framber Valdez will be the starting pitcher on the mound in this game on Saturday. He is 11-5 with a 3.07 ERA this season. He has been credited with 2 straight wins and his team has won 3 of the last 4 games that he has started in. In his last start, he allowed 0 ER and 3 BB with 6 Ks on 6 hits through 7 IP against the Los Angeles Angels last Monday. He has faced the A's lineup once this season and it was a no-decision as he allowed 5 runs in that game but his team still went on to win that game. They have scored 31 runs in their last 4 games averaging almost 32 runs scored per game in that span and they have allowed their opponents to score 13 runs against them in that same span allowing over 3 runs per game.

 

The A's are coming into this game after losing to the Seattle Mariners in their series finale on Thursday. That loss put them on a 4 game losing streak as they were swept by the Mariners in a four-game series. This will be the 2nd game of a three-game series with the Astros with Friday's game still to be played, that result is pending. Frankie Montas will be the starter for Friday's game while Sean Manaea will be throwing the first pitch for them in this game on Saturday. He is 10-10 with a 4.05 ERA this season. He is 2-1 in his last 3 starts getting credited with all of those results. In his last start, he allowed 4 ER and 1 BB with 3 strikeouts on 8 hits through 5 innings of work against the Seattle Mariners last Monday. He has seen this Astros lineup 4 times this season and he is 0-2 against them but his team is 2-2 in those games. Regardless, he has not pitched well at all against them allowing an average of 3 earned runs in each of those games. Their offense has scored 10 runs in their last 4 games averaging over 2 runs scored per game in that span and they have allowed their opponents to score 19 runs against them in that same span allowing almost 5 runs per game.

 

The A's have everything to play for here as they need to win every game now. They are 4 games out of the Wild Card spot now and they have the Seattle Mariners, the Toronto Blue Jays, the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox all ahead of them and pulling away as those teams keep winning. The A's have hit a bit of a slump now and it does not help that Manaea has not had a good track record against the Astros this season. The value here is to bet on the Astros as they are the better team, they are playing in better form currently, and they have the pitching advantage. The line is very short on them as well so the best wager to place here is on the Astros to win this game.

 

Astros Athletics Prediction:  Our free MLB Pick for Saturday Sep. 25, 2021 (4:07 pm ET start time) is Astros 9 Athletics 2.

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Houston Astros: 50-27 (+13.6 units) on the money line when the total is 7 to 8.5. 47-23 (+11.1 units) on the money line against division opponents.

Oakland Athletics: 49-49 (-12.1 units) on the money line when the total is 7 to 8.5. 40-38 (-10 units) on the money line in home games.

 

 

Houston Astros:  M. Brantley (LF) Ques Fri - Knee injury. Y. Alvarez (LF) Ques Fri - Undisclosed injury. J. Odorizzi (SP) Prob Sun - Foot injury.

Oakland Athletics:  S. Moll (RP) Out indefinitely - Personal. M. Fiers (SP) out for season - Elbow  injury. D. Jefferies (RP) out for season - Elbow  injury.

 

 

Houston Astros: Yuli Gurriel is one player to watch in this game. He leads his team in batting average and in hits. He will want to start getting into playoff form now so look for him to start hitting a much more efficient rate.

 

Oakland Athletics: Matt Olson is one player to watch here. The A’s desperately need some wins here and he leads the team in hits, homers, and RBI. Look for him to make a big impact in this game and try to spark his team’s offense.

 

"I think if you guys are asking, you know. Not only that, but clearly he was out at second. When the game is affected by the guys not playing it, it sucks." - Lance McCullers Jr. on what he thought was a bad call by the umps in their loss to the Halos.

 

 

"He said he did. I didn't think he did. And then in the meantime Rhino was telling me after talking to our replay that it was a foul ball and he thought he was talking to him and threw Rhino out. So I was trying to defend Rhino and tell him that he was telling me that it was a foul ball, not him, and I stayed out there too long. I shouldn't have gotten thrown out but I was trying to defend Rhino." - Bob Melvin after getting ejected from their last game.

 

 

 

J. Altuve 2B

J. Siri RF

A. Bregman 3B

K. Tucker DH

Y. Gurriel 1B

C. Correa SS

C. McCormick LF

J. Meyers CF

M. Maldonado C

 

J. Harrison 2B

S. Marte CF

M. Olson 1B

J. Lowrie DH

M. Canha RF

M. Chapman 3B

T. Kemp LF

S. Murphy C

E. Andrus SS

 

Batting Average:  Y. Gurriel (.317)

Hits:  Y. Gurriel (161)

Home Runs:  Y. Alvarez (32)

RBI:  Y. Alvarez (101)

Stolen Bases:  K. Tucker (14)

Wins:  L. McCullers Jr. (12)

Saves:  R. Pressly (25)

ERA:  K. Graveman (1.71)

 

Batting Average:  S. Marte (.310)

Hits:  M. Olson (145)

Home Runs:  M. Olson (38)

RBI:  M. Olson (105)

Stolen Bases:  S. Marte (45)

Wins:  C. Bassitt (12)

Saves:  L. Trivino (21)

ERA:  A. Chafin (1.78)

 

Managers:

Houston Astros: Dusty Baker (2nd season)

Oakland Athletics: Bob Melvin (11th season)

 

67 degrees F partly cloudy, 77% humidity, 0% chance of rain, up to 12 mph wind speeds E.