If the 53-51 Baltimore Orioles are going to ultimately get into the playoffs, they're going to have to really work on their 19-30 road record. Games like these on Wednesday against the 47-59 Oakland Athletics are the types of games which have to be won to get the job done in the crowded American League playoff picture.
ODDS ANALYSIS
These two teams have both been real drains on bettors this year. The A's have been terrible no matter whether we're talking about home or away. They've cost bettors 20.59 units in totality.
Baltimore has been atrocious on the road with that .388 winning percentage. The team has dropped 10.20 units when playing away from Camden Yards this season.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Many were wondering how 24-year old Kendall Graveman was going to bounce back from three really poor starts to kick off the month of July. In that stretch, he had a 10.22 ERA and was handed three straight losses.
Answer: Quite well.
The righty tossed 6.2 brilliant innings in his last go round with the Indians, allowing just one unearned run and five hits in that span.
Wei-Yin Chen is just 5-6 this year, but his 3.24 ERA remains top notch. In his last start though, Chen was tagged for 10 hits and six runs over just 3.1 innings against the Tigers, though the team did bail him out in an 8-7 triumph.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"I don't know that we'll ease him back in. We gave him multiple games. We played him nine innings back-to-back. I wouldn't run him out there 10 days in a row right away, though." – Athletics manager Bob Melvin on the return of Coco Crisp to the lineup after his two-month absence on the DL
SITUATIONAL BETTING
Trading Tommy Hunter thinned out this Baltimore bullpen just a bit, but we're not really all that worried about it.
At the back ends of games, both Darren O'Day and Zach Britton have taken care of business. Even asking Brian Matusz to come in and pitch in the eighth in the right situation wouldn't be a bad thing.
We'd feel better if the O's still had Hunter as well to help out at the back, but asking O'Day, Britton and Matusz to do the job is just as well.
PROP TALK
Chen has allowed a stunning five home runs in his last 8.2 innings of work, and he's conceded at least two homers in five of his last seven starts.
Enter: Stephen Vogt, who leads the A's with 14 bombs on the season. Vogt hasn't hit a homer since July 12 though, and he is in the midst of a horrible 0-for-24 slump. That said, this might be the perfect way for him to bust out going against a man in Chen who has had a terrible time keeping the ball in the yard.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
The A's are having a tough time hitting the ball right now. Vogt can't even put the bat on the ball, while Crisp is only 2-for-45 since his return from the disabled list.
Baltimore is clearly the right side in this game, even though Graveman should put on a respectable show in defeat.
Baltimore 5, Oakland 3
The MLB lines for this Wednesday contest will be first released by BookMaker Sportsbook. Since this game can be seen by anyone with a TV, BookMaker will have a multitude of wagering options available for it. Outside of the normal lines, you can gamble on real-time moneylines, player props and inning totals. Live betting is open during every commercial break!
Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker's live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here, so start betting with BookMaker today! The ballgame pitting the Baltimore Orioles versus the Oakland Athletics will commence at 3:35 p.m. ET on Wednesday, August 5, 2015 at the O.co Coliseum in Oakland, CA.
