Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA

Houston Astros vs Oakland Athletics: Can the Athletics sweep the series?

The Oakland Athletics are looking to sweep the Houston Astros tonight at Oakland Coliseum.

The Astros have split the last ten games

The Houston Astros are on top of the AL West with a 52-49 record, including 24-28 on the road. They lost the last three games including the first two of the series against the Athletics. The Astros have a 4.05 ERA, a .235 batting average, a .318 on-base percentage, and 1.30 walks plus hits per inning pitched. Jose Altuve leads the team with 123 hits and 57 runs for the season, and Yordan Alvarez is on top with 20 home runs.

The Athletics are picking up their form

The Oakland Athletics are at the bottom of the AL West with a 41-62 record, including 26-26 at home. The Athletics have won 4 of the 5 games following the All-Star break. The Athletics have a 4.37 ERA, a .254 batting average, a .331 on-base percentage, and 1.36 walks plus hits per inning pitched. JJ Bleday leads the team with 88 hits, while Brent Rooker is on top with 48 runs and 23 home runs.

Betting Trends

The Athletics are 5-1 SU in their last 6 games overall, 4-1 SU in their last 5 games against teams from the AL and 7-1 SU in their last 8 games against teams from the AL West. Oakland has played over the total run line in 6 of their last 7 games overall and in 4 of their last 5 home games while they have stayed under in 10 of their last 14 games against the Astros and in 5 of their last 7 home games against them. The Astros are 2-5 SU in their last 7 games overall, 14-6 SU in their last 20 games the Athletics, 8-4 SU in their last 12 games when visiting Oakland and 4-1 SU in their last 5 games played on Wednesday. Houston has played under the total run line in 5 of their last 7 games overall, in 4 of their last 6 games on the road and in 13 of their last 17 games against opponents from the AL West.

Prediction and Conclusion

The Oakland Athletics have another disappointing season, but they obviously needed the All-Star break to regroup. The Athletics are in the top 5 teams in the league following the break, as they are 4-1 since their return to action. They came into this series as losers in seven of the last eight games against Houston but limited the Astros to a total of two runs in the first two games. The Athletics will try to sweep the top team in their division with JP Sears on the mound, who is 7-7 for the season with a 4.49 ERA, 80 K, 106.1 IP, and 1.28 WHIP. The Astros will try to end their three-game losing streak with Hunter Brown, who is 8-6 for the season with a 4.14 ERA, 110 K, 104.1 IP, and 1.36 WHIP. He is not the team’s best pitcher, but the Astros may drop from the top of the division if they lose tonight. Knowing how dominant they have been in recent years against the Athletics, we go with the Astros to win tonight.