The Baltimore Orioles look to even the four-game series as they face the Oakland Athletics in the finale at the Coliseum. It's time to continue our MLB odds series with an Orioles-Athletics prediction and pick.
The Orioles shut out the Athletics 1-0 on Wednesday afternoon at the Oakland Coliseum. Oakland attempted to strike first, as they had Billy McKinney at first with Seth Brown at the plate in the second inning. Brown belted a double to right-field, and McKinney tried to score. However, a great relay throw by second-baseman Rougned Odor nailed him at the plate keeping the game scoreless. The call was initially safe, but a review indicated that the catcher tagged McKinney out before he touched home plate. Later, the Orioles capitalized on an Oakland mistake.
Ryan McKenna led off the fifth inning with a double to left-field. Next, Kelvin Gutierrez drilled a hard grounder to shortstop Elvis Andrus, who misplayed the ball. The error allowed McKenna to score the only run of the game.
Jordan Lyles pitched sufficiently, not allowing a run through five innings. The bullpen came through with four scoreless innings. Additionally, Jorge Lopez tossed a 5-out save, notching three strikeouts. Meanwhile, Daulton Jeffries allowed one run, none earned, with five hits over 6 1/3 innings.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Orioles-Athletics odds:
MLB Odds: Orioles-Athletics Odds
Orioles: +1.5 (-215)
Athletics: -1.5 (+176)
Over: 7 (-122)
Under 7: (+100)
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Why The Orioles Could Cover The Spread
Baltimore has covered the spread twice in this series. They have done so by limiting the damage the Oakland hitters could inflict on them. However, they will start Tyler Wells on Thursday.
Wells has had a rough start to the season. He is 0-1 with a 6.35 ERA and has not made it through five innings in either start. Additionally, Wells lasted 1 2/3 innings in his first start, allowing four earned runs. However, he did not allow a run in his most recent outing.
The Baltimore defense was a monumental reason why they won on Wednesday. Odor and his teammates were perfect on defense. This was after combining for three errors over the first two games. Baltimore looks to replicate the defensive effort and prevent more runners from crossing the plate. The bullpen pitched admirably, not allowing a run on Wednesday. That came a day after the bullpen surrendered a lead in the sixth inning.
But the Orioles need more from their offense. Trey Mancini is struggling, hitting .244 with no home runs in 2022. Also, the Baltimore offense managed three total runs in this series against Oakland. The Orioles left six men on base on Wednesday.
The Orioles will cover the spread if Lowe locates the strike zone and keeps the ball in the park. Additionally, the defense must replicate their performance from Wednesday. The offense has to awaken, and that begins with Mancini. The Orioles will cover if they can drive home the runners.
Why The Athletics Could Cover The Spread
Oakland is an awful team on paper. However, the Athletics are still better than the Orioles. Paul Blackburn takes the hill on Thursday. He is 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA over two starts. He gave up two earned runs on five hits in five innings in his last start. Now, he looks to replicate the performance against the Orioles. To do that, he must keep his pitch count down.
Blackburn has not been able to garner quick-outs, and this has prevented him from lasting longer than five innings. Despite that, the Oakland bullpen has assisted. Oakland relievers have yet to give up a run in this series, and they look to continue that pattern in the finale. However, the Oakland offense has not excelled, either.
The Athletics have combined for seven runs over the first three games. Oakland needs Sean Murphy to contribute. The talented catcher is hitting .220 with two home runs and eight RBIs in 2022. Additionally, he is 1 for 11 in the series. The A's need him and Brown to pick the offense up and give them a better chance to cover the spread. Oakland left seven runners on base on Wednesday.
The Athletics will cover if Blackburn continues his solid season and limits his pitch count. The bullpen must keep its scoreless streak going. Finally, the A's need Murphy, Brown, and the rest of the Oakland offense to capitalize on its opportunities.
Final Orioles-Athletics Prediction & Pick
Not a single game has gone over six runs yet. However, the Baltimore starting pitcher might give up six runs alone. The Athletics have a young starter, but he has executed well over two starts in 2022. The Athletics will tee off on the Orioles' starting pitcher and take control of the game early. Then, Oakland will finish Baltimore off and cover the spread.
Final Orioles-Athletics Prediction & Pick: Athletics -1.5 (+176)
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