Athletics vs. Giants prediction, odds, pick, how to watch

The Oakland Athletics take on the San Francisco Giants. Our MLB odds series has our Athletics Giants prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Athletics Giants.

The San Francisco Giants were 54-41 not too long ago. Being 13 games over .500 through 95 games was a spectacular achievement for a group which started the season 6-13. The Giants went on a couple of different winning binges. They won seven of eight in one stretch. A few weeks later, they won 10 in a row. Then they won seven in a row, collecting victories on both sides of the All-Star break. All told, the Giants — after their horrendous first 19 games of the season — went 48-28 in their next 76 games. This was an ascendant, upwardly mobile team. It seemed the Giants had not only found a winning formula but had discovered how to consistently replicate it.

Not quite.

The Giants have lost six games in a row to fall to 54-47. Their offense has died, getting shut down in a weekend sweep by the Washington Nationals and then falling flat in a Monday makeup game (from a prior rainout) in Detroit against the Tigers. On Monday in Detroit, San Francisco hitters managed just four hits against several different Tiger pitchers. A solo home run by Wilmer Flores provided the Giants their only run.

The pitching hasn't been spectacular, but it hasn't been awful, either. The offense needs a revival as the Giants battle the Arizona Diamondbacks, Cincinnati Reds, Miami Marlins, and Philadelphia Phillies in a very crowded National League wild card race. San Francisco will need to finish third or better in that five-team group if it is going to grab one of the N.L. wild card spots.

Here are the Athletics-Giants MLB odds,

MLB Odds: Athletics-Giants Odds

Oakland Athletics: +1.5 (+105)

San Francisco Giants: -1.5 (-126)

Over: 8 (-118)

Under: 8 (-104)

How To Watch Athletics vs. Giants

TV: NBC Sports California (Athletics) / NBC Sports Bay Area (Giants) / MLB Extra Innings

Stream: MLB.tv

Time: 9:45 p.m. ET/6:45 p.m. PT

*Watch Athletics-Giants LIVE on fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why The Athletics Could Cover The Spread

The Athletics are a bad team, but they fought the defending champion Houston Astros tooth and nail over the past weekend in a four-game series. The A's did lose three of four, but they covered the spread in two of the four games and came within one run of covering the spread in the two games in which they did not cover. The total aggregate score of the four games: 13-11, Astros. The A's limited Houston to an average of 3.25 runs per game. Houston scored more than three runs in only one of the four games in the series. If the A's — who won a series from the Boston Red Sox earlier last week before their four-game battle against the Astros — continue to get the pitching they have received over the last seven days, they will cover the spread against a reeling San Francisco club which has lost six straight.

Why The Giants Could Cover The Spread

The Giants have lost six in a row, but they're far better than the A's. They also have Alex Cobb, one of their two best starting pitchers this year (alongside Logan Webb), on the mound. They have better pitching than Oakland. They know they need to win this game. They have been awful for a full week. The chances are that they will hit the reset button and win comfortably here.

Final Athletics-Giants Prediction & Pick

The Giants are a much better team than the A's, and they really need to win after losing six straight. Take the Giants.

Final Athletics-Giants Prediction & Pick: Giants -1.5