Oakland Athletics vs Houston Astros Prediction 05-20-2023 MLB Picks

The Oakland A’s and the Houston Astros meet in an AL West division matchup in MLB action from Minute Maid Park on Saturday. Let’s dive into the odds, starting pitching matchup, history and make a prediction for this game.

Odds

Houston is listed as a -300 home favorite while Oakland is a +250 road underdog. The total for this game is set at 8.5 runs.

Starting Pitching Matchup

JP Sears will start for Oakland and is 0-3 with a 5.27 ERA and 44 strikeouts this season. Houston will start Hunter Brown here and is 4-1 with a 3.43 ERA and 47 strikeouts this season.

Matchup History

Houston’s 5-1 win over the A’s on Friday made it back-to-back wins and 7 wins in the last 8 meetings for the Astros in this head-to-head matchup.

Trends

Oakland is 14-41 in their last 55 games overall and 15-36 in their last 51 road games while the over is 16-5 in their last 21 road games. Houston is 53-24 in their last 77 division games and 71-34 in their last 105 home games while the over is 5-2 in their last 7 Saturday games.

Pick

I’m rolling with the Astros on the -1.5 run line here. Houston’s simply the better team by a fair margin and that’s the long and short of it. Hunter Brown is budding into a star before our very eyes and while JP Sears will likely be a cornerstone for the A’s for a while, the A’s remain one of the worst teams in the majors and are a team I’m rarely looking to back. Give me Houston -1.5 here.