Oakland Athletics vs Houston Astros 5/21/2023 Picks Predictions

Oakland Athletics vs Houston Astros 5/21/2023 Picks Predictions Previews

The Oakland Athletics will go against the Houston Astros in MLB action in Minute Maid Park, TX, on Sunday, May 21, 2023, at 2:10 PM ET.

Houston received the Oakland Athletics at a somewhat awkward time.

The Astros were facing an Athletics team that lost nine of its previous 11 games and appeared to be finding its footing after winning four straight games before this weekend’s series.

Oakland suffered losses in games one and two by a cumulative score of 8-3, including a 3-2 defeat on Saturday due to a home run by the Astros in the eighth inning. The Oakland Athletics rank fifth in the AL West.

In Sunday’s last game of the series, the Oakland Athletics will use lefty Kyle Muller. This year, Muller made nine starts and has a 7.71 ERA.

In 42 innings pitched, he gave up 61 hits, and his K/9 percentage is only 6.4. Muller made just 1-2 starts on the road, going 1-2 with a horrible ERA of 10.31.

In just 18 innings of action, he walked 13 batters, and his road WHIP is 2.18. Muller’s strikeout rate is 16.3% compared to his 50.3% hard-hit percentage.

The Athletics have compiled 63 two-baggers as a team and have hit 53 baseballs out of the park. Oakland is slugging .380 and has been called out on strikes 434 times while being walked on 160 occasions.

As a squad, the Oakland Athletics are knocking in 3.8 runs/g, with them sitting at 27th in the league.

They have tallied 168 runs batted in and 355 base knocks so far this year, and their average at the plate sits at .229. They have 174 runs while having a team OBP of .311.

They have a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 1.54, and their pitching staff has a team WHIP of 1.69. Athletics pitchers have yielded 80 home runs and 339 runs (30th in the league).

Oakland has produced 461 base hits (10.2 per 9 innings) and 320 earned runs. The Athletics have compiled a team-made run average of 7.08 this year (30th in MLB), and their staff has rung up 347 hitters.

Their pitching staff has walked 226 opposing batters, and their FIP is 6.06 as a unit so far this season.

The total went UNDER in 4 of Oakland’s last five matches.
The Oakland Athletics are 1-6 SU in their last seven games.
The Oakland Athletics are 1-8 SU in their last nine matches against Houston.

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Oakland Athletics vs Houston Astros Predictions 5/21/2023

The Houston Astros (25-19) will take on the Oakland Athletics (10-36) at Minute Maid Park on Sunday.

The odds on this game have the Athletics at +380 while the Astros are at -475. The total is set at 8.5. The pitchers expected to start will be Kyle Muller and Framber Valdez.

As the Houston Astros prepared to defend their World Series championship, they began to move up in the AL West standings.

Before this weekend’s game against the Athletics in last place, the Astros won four games in a row and were closing the distance on Texas for first place.

In the first game of the series on Friday night, the Astros also greeted back former MVP and leadoff hitter Jose Altuve.

The Astros took care of business in the first two matches of this series, winning each one to extend their winning run to six games.

Yordan Alvarez’s home run on Saturday broke a 2-2 tie and gave the Astros the victory. The Houston Astros rank second in AL West.

Houston’s ace, Framber Valdez, will take the mound on Sunday afternoon. In nine starts this year, Valdez has a 3-4 record, including seven solid outings.

In 57 innings thrown, he gave up 52 hits for an ERA of 2.84. This season, Valdez walked just 12 batters and has a 10.3 K/9 rate.

Valdez made six starts overall, but his home record is a shocking 0-4 with four solid starts. His K/9 rate is even 10, and his ERA is 3.09.

Valdez’s hard-hit rate climbed this season from 41% to 48.7%, but he also upped his strikeout rate by nearly 5% to 28.1%.

The Houston pitching staff has relinquished 161 runs for the season while holding a team ERA of 3.31 (144 earned runs allowed).

They have given up 46 HRs, conceding 3.70 runs per 9 innings (2nd in the league). The Astros have a WHIP of 1.222 and are the owners of a FIP of 3.75 as a pitching staff this season.

Their K/BB ratio is 9.80 (427 strikeouts against 127 free passes). They come in 7th in baseball as a pitching staff in total hits conceded with 351.

The total went UNDER in 7 of Houston’s last ten matches.
The Houston Astros are 6-0 SU in their last six games.
The total went UNDER in 4 of Houston’s last six games against Oakland.

Oakland Athletics vs Houston Astros. The MLB pick for this game is the Houston Astros. Muller’s road performance was awful this year, with an ERA over 10 for each start.

He is now facing a lineup for the Astros that just found its groove, with a hitting average hanging around .300 over the last six games.

Jose Altuve, a second baseman, also returned to the Astros, strengthening the top of the order and adding depth to the entire lineup.

After failing to win in his first six races, anticipate Valdez to turn things around and get his first victory at home this year.

In his six home starts, he threw four great starts, but he still needs to receive the offensive assistance he is used to.

The Astros will provide Valdez with all the runs he needs and more on Sunday afternoon when they take on Muller. Houston will win to a predicted score of 6-4.

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