Houston Astros vs. Oakland Athletics Prediction: Can Justin Verlander Keep Defeating Father Time?
Houston Astros vs. Oakland Athletics Prediction: Can Justin Verlander Keep Defeating Father Time?
Astros vs. Athletics Start Time, Where to Watch, and Odds
- Date: July 16, 2022
- Game Time: 4:10 pm ET
- Where to Watch: MLB.TV
Click Here for Astros vs. Athletics Odds
Astros vs. Athletics Line Movement
Houston Astros vs. Oakland Athletics Prediction
1u - Justin Verlander To Record A Win (-150) (Bet $150 to win $100)
This is an autoplay. There are nights where finding plays take hours of deep diving analytics and trends, but this one is just a must-bet. The Astros are -350 favorites, and they face the 2nd worst team in baseball. Houston performs better at home with a 27-13 home record and in Verlander starts, he has recorded a win in 5/7 home starts. The only two non-wins were against the Blue Jays and White Sox, who both are much more intimidating than Athletics.
Verlander leads the MLB with 11 wins, and this is his easiest matchup yet. He has 11 wins in 16 starts and now faces the team who scores the fewest runs in the MLB. The Oakland bats have 110-lifetime at-bats against Verlander and have only registered 5 total RBIs. They average one RBI every 22 batters, which is not ideal.
We need Verlander to pitch 5+ innings, and in his 16 starts, he has pitched 5+ innings in 15/16. The Astros bats should certainly give him run support against a rookie making his 5th ever start.
On the mound for Oakland is lefty Jared Koenig. Koenig has been awful on the road in his 3 starts posting a 9.24 ERA. Koenig is still finding his footing in the MLB, and although the Astros aren’t known for crushing lefties, I don’t think that will play much of a factor here.
The Astros have an experienced lineup of solidified pros and they’re facing a kid who hasnt found a real groove yet, this could get ugly. It’s a hall of famer pitcher against a guy making his 5th start, do the math. Not to mention the Astros have the better bats and a much superior bullpen. Let's roll!
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