The Houston Astros had an abysmal start to the season, but all of a sudden, they've got 50 wins and are just a game on the outside of the playoffs with plenty of time to go to run down the rest of the American League as well. The Oakland Athletics have started off the second half of the year in relatively good form though, and that should make for a great getaway day game on Wednesday afternoon.
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ODDS ANALYSIS
Oakland has really been disappointing this year at home, going 19-27 over the course of its first 46 games. The end result has seen bettors drop 11.98 units in these home games this year, a number which will certainly threaten to be on the rise in this series.
For as well as the Astros have played of late though, they still have a bit of a bugaboo playing on the road. They're just 22-23 away from home, though they did open up this West Coast swing by winning two out of three games in Seattle to give a good kick start to their second half of the year.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Daniel Mengden really has to command his pitches better if he's going to stick around pitching in the majors. He's 1-4 with a 5.54 ERA this season, but it's his recent form which has been so concerning.
The righty has issued a total of 12 walks in his last four starts, and he's only gotten through the sixth inning in one of the four. In his last two starts, one of which came against these Astros just before the All-Star break, Mengden allowed six runs each.
Doug Fister really is who he is at this point in his career. He's never going to be a frontline starter, and he'll never again be the guy who went 16-6 for the Nats with a 2.41 ERA in 2014.
However, Fister is still reliable. He rarely gets shelled and often manages to quietly put together zero after zero on the scoreboard. His 3.64 ERA is good, yet not spectacular. He doesn't overwhelm hitters with his stuff and rarely induces more than a handful of swings and misses over the course of the game, but he keeps the ball in the infield a ton and gives his fielders plenty of chances to make plays.
LIVE BETTING
The bullpens for these two teams got lit up in one of the four games the two played back in the beginning of July. Houston's Will Harris and Michael Feliz combined to allow five runs in the ninth inning of that game, but the 'Stros came back and scored three in the bottom of the inning to win the game.
Take that one game out though, and Harris has been pretty darn flawless this year, allowing just three runs in his other 38.2 innings of work. If you've got a chance to live bet on the Astros in a close game in the ninth, feel confident that Harris will ultimately get the job done just as he did two nights later in which he went 1-2-3 to ultimately pick up a win.
QUICK PICK
Many are going to point to that 10-9 game which Mengden pitched just after the Fourth of July and suggest that this game should go over the total with ease. However, four of the last five in this series have stayed under the number, and three of the four games in that most recent series at Minute Maid Park featured five runs or fewer.
Mengden's control scares us just a bit, but we appreciate the fact that he's probably going to end up on a relatively short leash when it's all said and done with. Fister is probably good for his six innings and three runs, and that should keep us in line for an under on getaway day in Oakland.
MLB Odds: Astros 5, Athletics 3
Load your betting bankroll from your smartphone with BookMaker's new cashier feature! Depositing and withdrawing funds from your account has never been easier. BookMaker's live betting platform means you always have access to odds and lines to every sporting event. Click here, and start wagering today! First pitch for the game between the Houston Astros and the Oakland Athletics is scheduled for Wednesday, July 20, 2016 at 3:35 p.m. ET at the Oakland Coliseum. The contest will be televised live on MLB Network.
