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The Oakland Athletics look to make it two in a row over the Detroit Tigers. It is now time to continue our MLB odds series with an Athletics-Tigers prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.
The Tigers got a great pitching performance yesterday. Tarik Skubal started it out going four innings without giving up a hit and striking out six. Then Reese Olson took over and went five innings with a hit and five strikeouts. Overall, It was ten innings of work for Tigers pitchers, with 12 strikeouts and two hits. One of those hits was by Ryan Noda in the tenth, and that was the one that won the game for the Athletics. According to OptaSTATS, the Tigers are the first team to lose a game in which they struck out 12 batters, gave up two or fewer hits, and did not allow an earned run.
On the Oakland side, it was a good night pitching-wise for them as well. Something that has not been happening a lot lately. Still, they have won three of their last four and five of their last ten overall.
Here are the Athletics-Tigers MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Athletics-Tigers Odds
Oakland Athletics: +1.5 (-111)
Detroit Tigers: -1.5 (-108)
Over: 8.5 (-112)
Under: 8.5 (-108)
How To Watch Athletics vs. Tigers
TV: NBCSCA/BSDET
Stream: MLB.TV
Time: 6:40 PM ET/ 3:40 PM PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Athletics Could Cover The Spread
Oakland boasts the worst offense in the majors this year. They are last in the league in runs scored, batting average, and slugging percentage. The Athletics also sit 28th in on-base percentage. They have scored a little better as of late though. They are averaging 3.8 runs per game, as opposed to the normal 3.54. The pitching is not much better, with a 30th-ranked ERA, 29th-ranked WHIP, and 28th-ranked opponent batting average. Their pitching has been below average as of late, with an ERA over 6.50 in the last ten games.
Article Continues Below
Today, it will be Ken Waldichuk on the mound for the Athletics. He is 1-5 on the season with a 6.78 ERA. He only made one start in June, while making seven appearances overall. In the start he went two innings, giving up two runs. Both were unearned though and he took the no-decision as the Athletics lost in 10 innings. In June, he pitched 15.2 innings, giving up 18 hits and nine walks, with a 4.60 ERA.
The Athletics will need to hit better than they did yesterday to get the win. Noda had one of the hits, but it was only his third in the last week. He has been hitting .167 over the last week with just two RBIs. Most of the run production has come from JJ Bleday as of late. He has five RBIs in the last week while hitting two doubles. Bleday has also scored five times over the last week. He is hitting just .214 in that period but has a .381 OBP.
The best bats as of late in terms of hitting have been Seth Brown and Tony Kemp. Brown is hitting .278 with a home run and four RBIs in the last week. Kemp has scored five times while hitting .269 in the last week. He has also driven in three runs and stolen three bases in the past week.
Why The Tigers Could Cover The Spread
While the Athletics' offense is bad, the Tigers are nearly as bad. They are 28th in runs scored this year, while also sitting 28th in batting average, 27th in on-base percentage, and 29th in slugging. The offense has been better as of late. They are averaging five runs per game in the last ten. On the season they are only averaging 3.89 runs per game, so if they can keep improving on that, more wins should come. The Tigers are still in the race for the AL Central. At 37-47 on the year, they are just 5.5 games back of the Twins in the division.
Still, not is all bad for the Tigers. Spencer Torkelson is heating up. He is hitting .316 in the last week. Even more impressive, he has walked five times, giving him an OBP of .458 in the last week. He also has three home runs, seven RBIS, and six runs scored in just five games.
Also hitting well is Matt Vierling. It has not been productive hitting overall though. He is hitting .381 in the last week with two triples. Still, he has just one RBI and three runs scored in the last week. Beyond Torkelson, RBIS has come from Jake Marisnick and Kerry Carpenter. Both of them have five RBIS over the past week of play. Marisnick has done it with the help of a home run and a triple while hitting .273. Carpenter has hit two home runs and hit .235 overall.
The biggest issue has been hitting with runners in scoring position, as Javier Baez and Zack Short have struggled. Baez did have a home run and four RBIs in one game, but past that, he is hitting just .154 on the week. Short is hitting just .125 on the week, and does not have an RBI or an extra-base hit.
On the hill today will be Eduardo Rodriguez, who will be coming off the 15-day IL to make this start. He is 4-4 on the season with a 2.13 ERA. Rodriguez has not made a start since May 28th but was pitching well in May. He pitched 31 innings in the month and had a 2.03 ERA. This year, he has had four outings of going seven or more innings without giving up a run.
Final Athletics-Tigers Prediction & Pick
Last night's game was awful for both sides on offense. There were a combined eight hits in the game, with the winning side only having two. Meanwhile, 22 batters struck out in the game. Today, there should be a few more runs scored, and it is not possible to go lower. Still, do not expect a high-scoring game with these two offensive units. The Tigers have the better pitcher on the mound by far. If they can score early, they should be able to get the win.
Final Athletics-Tigers Prediction & Pick: Tigers -1.5 (-108)
