Oakland Athletics vs Houston Astros Prediction 7-21-23 MLB Picks

The Houston Astros and Oakland Athletics meet Friday in game 2 of an MLB series at Oakland Coliseum. Let’s preview this game and give out a pick and prediction.

The Houston Astros are 54-43 on the season and 4 games back in the AL West division. The Astros pitching staff has allowed a combined 2 runs and 8 hits in their last 2 games. The Astros pitching staff is 2nd in ERA (3.76), 12th in WHIP (1.26) and 5th in quality starts (44). The Astros offense is 12th in runs per game (4.71), 17th in batting average (.225) and 11th in homers (116). Kyle Tucker leads the Astros with 103 hits and 64 RBI, while Alex Bregman and Jose Abreu have combined for 179 hits and 110 RBI. Framber Valdez gets the ball, and he is 7-6 with a 2.76 ERA and 129 strikeouts this season. Valdez is 4-3 with a 2.57 ERA and 57 strikeouts in his career against the Athletics.

The Oakland Athletics are 27-72 on the year and the worst team in all of baseball. The Athletics are 2-5 since the all star break. The Athletics pitching staff is 30th in ERA (6.00), 30th in WHIP (1.55) and 18th in quality starts (18). The Athletics offense is 30th in runs per game (3.60), 30th in batting average (.221) and 23rd in homers (93). Esteury Ruiz leads the Athletics with 86 hits and 35 RBI, while Brent Rooker and Ryan Noda have combined for 129 hits and 82 RBI. JP Sears gets the ball, and he is 1-6 with a 3.99 ERA and 100 strikeouts this season. Sears is 0-0 with a 4.00 ERA and 8 strikeouts in his career against the Astros.

Matchup/League Facts

The Oakland Athletics ranks 30th in the league for hits this season (721).

The Oakland Athletics ranks 30th in the league for RBI's this season (341).

The Houston Astros ranks 2nd in the league for ERA this season (3.73).

The Houston Astros ranks T28th in the league for triples this season (7).

Randy’s Pick

I've been saying all year that the Oakland Athletics are a team I'm fading, and that doesn't change here. The A's are losing games at a record clip, they're arguably the worst team offensively and pitching wise. The Athletics are also losing a $100 bettor more than $2,500 on the year. There's just no getting behind Oakland if you enjoy making money, and it's that simple. My only option here is to side with the Astros and the RL for max betting value.