On Wednesday, July 7, the Oakland Athletics and Houston Astros clash at Minute Maid Park in Houston. These are two of the best teams in the American League, making this an extremely fun game to keep tabs on.
Will Houston stay hot and win its sixth game in a row? Read on with our Athletics vs. Astros picks and predictions to find out.
A's vs Astros game info
• Location: Minute Maid Park, Houston, TX
• Date: Wednesday, July 7, 2021
• Time: 8:10 p.m. ET
• TV: NBCSCA, ATT SportsNet-SW
A's vs Astros odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
Compare MLB odds before betting to ensure you get the best number.
MLB sharp money and line movement report
By Patrick EversonAs of 4:45 p.m. ET, Houston is out to -160 at PointsBet USA, after opening -145 and initially dipping to -135. Ticket count and money are in the 2/1 range on the Astros. The total moved from 8.5 to 9 and back and is currently 8.5 (Over -115), with 79 percent of bets/71 percent of money on the Over.
Check out the full line movement for this gameA's vs Astros betting preview
Starting pitchers
Sean Manaea (6-5, 3.13 ERA): Manaea has had an up-and-down season, as he has been unhittable at times and then pedestrian at others. The lefty wasn’t great in his last trip to the mound, allowing four earned runs on nine hits in five innings against the Texas Rangers. However, he had given up two or fewer earned runs in each of his previous seven starts. Earlier in the year, Manaea pitched six innings of three-run ball against the Astros, but he gave up 10 hits in that game and was lucky to escape with that little damage.
Luis Garcia (6-5, 3.14 ERA): On May 20, Garcia struck out seven batters in a five-inning, two-run effort against the Athletics in Oakland. That was an impressive outing for the righty, who also happens to be much better when pitching at Minute Maid Park. On the season, Garcia is 3-3 with a 2.58 ERA at home. He’s also coming off a lousy performance against the Baltimore Orioles on June 30, and he has come out and won games after each of his last two losses.
Weather
Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our MLB weather info.
Key injuries
A's: DH Mitch Moreland (out), OF Mark Canha (out), RP Trevor Rosenthal (out)
Astros: 3B Alex Bregman (out), RP Pedro Baez (out)
Find our latest MLB injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Astros are 4-1 in their last five games against left-handed starters. Find more MLB betting trends for A's vs. Astros.
Moneyline pick
As mentioned earlier, Manaea only gave up three earned runs in six innings of work against the Astros back in May, but he allowed 10 hits in that game and Houston put 24 balls in play. The Astros were unlucky not to put up a bigger number in that game, but they should be able to pull themselves together and score four or five runs in this game. In 164 combined at bats against the lefty, Houston is batting .267 with nine doubles, five homers and 19 RBIs. Two of those homers have come from Kyle Tucker, who has been slumping as of late. Don’t be shocked if he’s able to get back on track here. Also, Yuli Gurriel is batting .306 with four doubles, a homer and five RBIs against Manaea. He’s another threat to bust this game open for the Astros.
Garcia has a 2.58 ERA when pitching at Minute Maid Park this season, and he now faces an Athletics team that he was able to beat in his last trip to the hill. Also, one of the only two players to drive in a run against Garcia in that game was Mark Canha, who homered in the first inning. However, Canha was placed on the 10-day DL back on June 25, and he likely won’t be back until after the All-Star Break. That’s good news for Garcia, as the righty now has to worry mostly about Matt Olson.
PREDICTION: Astros ML -138
Over/Under pick
The Astros should be able to get another good start out of Garcia in this one. Before giving up four earned runs against the Orioles — a game that finished at 5-2 in favor of Baltimore, meaning it still would have gone Under this total — the 24-year-old had allowed two or fewer earned runs in seven of his previous eight starts. Garcia can’t be expected to turn in that kind of effort every time out, but it’s certainly a possibility here. Also, even if Manaea were to give up four or five earned runs in this game, this one can still go Under the total. The number just seems a little too high here, as these are two very good starting pitchers.
PREDICTION: Under 8.5 (-110)
A's vs Astros betting card
- Astros ML -138
- Under 8.5 (-110)
Picks made on 7/7/2021 at 7:45 a.m. ET
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