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The Houston Astros take on the Oakland Athletics. Check out our MLB odds series for our Astros Athletics prediction and pick.
Jose Urquidy takes the ball for the Astros, while Paul Blackburn goes to the hill for the Athletics.
Jose Urquidy stumbled out of the gate this season, posting a 5.95 ERA in the month of April. Since then, he has been a far better pitcher, knocking nearly two runs off his ERA to its current mark of 4.15. Urquidy has steadily improved, and in his last three starts, he has been superb. Those three starts were the best of his 2022 season. Urquidy gave up a total of three earned runs in 19 innings, only one earned run in each of three starts in which he pitched at least six innings per game. He limited the New York Yankees to one run in seven innings on June 26, an elite display which has been part of the marked improvement in Houston's pitching over the past few weeks. Urquidy has been one component of Houston's best stretch of the season. The Astros have pulled away in the American League West. Getting great pitching throughout the rotation has powered this surge.
Paul Blackburn has a 2.90 ERA. On May 25, his ERA for the season was 1.70. He was excellent in the first month and a half of the season. Then in June, he got knocked bag a few pegs, posting an ERA of over 5.10 for that month. His season ERA rose to 3.12. Blackburn bounced back in his most recent start with 6 1/3 innings of scoreless ball against the Mariners on July 2. The Mariners are a relatively light-hitting team, but Blackburn nevertheless pulled himself out of the downward spiral which marked his previous several starts. Is that enough for him to maintain a positive trajectory in this game, or was that a one-game aberration? The Astros have a good chance of showing Blackburn whether he has truly solved his problems or merely delayed them last weekend.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Astros-Athletics MLB odds.
MLB Odds: Astros-Athletics Odds
Houston Astros: -1.5 (-110)
Oakland Athletics: +1.5 (-110)
Over: 7.5 (-110)
Under: 7.5 (-110)
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Why The Astros Could Cover the Spread
Houston has been on a tear. The Astros won three of five games from the New York Yankees in a recent series of battles, and they swept the New York Mets in two separate two-game series. Houston has won 17 of its last 21 games. The Astros were 37-24 on the morning of June 14. They lost two games to the Yankees in a four-game series which felt a lot like an American League Championship Series preview. Their only non-Yankee losses since June 14 were on June 18 to the White Sox and July 6 against the Royals. That is frightening consistency and a sign that this team is ready to defend its American League pennant this October. Going against an Oakland team which is one of the worst in baseball, of course the Astros should cover the spread.
Why The Athletics Could Cover the Spread
After bouncing back on July 2 against the Mariners, Paul Blackburn might have discovered what was going wrong for him in the month of June. Assuming he has made those course corrections, Blackburn is a better pitcher than Jose Urquidy, and that will give Oakland the edge it needs to beat the Astros in the first game of this weekend series. Oakland just did win a series from the Blue Jays, too, so the A's are playing good ball and should not be taken lightly.
Final Astros-Athletics Prediction & Pick
If the A's pull the upset, so be it. The Astros are the obvious pick, having won 17 of 21 and showing they have an answer for just about every problem.
Final Astros-Athletics Prediction & Pick: Astros -1.5
