Oakland Athletics vs Houston Astros Prediction: Expect a Low-Scoring Match

American League West Division rivals Oakland Athletics, and Houston Astros will begin their first head-to-head series in the 2022 Championship. There are several betting options for the first match at once.

The Athletics are not solving tournament problems this season. They are coming into the first series with Houston in last place in the division standings with a 20-30 balance and 13th in the American League standings. Only Detroit and Kansas State are worse in the conference.

Before the games against Houston, Oakland played a home series against another division rival, the Texas Rangers, and lost 3 of their 4 games (1:4, 5:8, 4:11, 6:5).

Paul Blackburn will pitch for the Athletics in the upcoming game, 5-0 and with a 1.70 ERA in 9 starts. As it's not hard to guess, Blackburn is Oakland's best pitcher this season.

Oakland is the second stop for the Astros on their road trip. They spent the first series in Seattle against another AL West division rival, the Seattle Mariners. The team from Houston completely failed on the bat and lost 2 out of 3 games (1:6, 0:6, 2:1). However, the unsuccessful trip to the Mariners did not particularly affect the Astros' tournament position. The Texans still lead the division standings with a 30-18 balance but sit second in the conference standings, behind only the New York Yankees.

Framber Valdez will pitch for Houston in the first game in Oakland, 4-2 and with a 2.83 ERA.

In matches where Paul Blackburn is pitching, Auckland has been exceptionally winning. And why shouldn't that streak be extended in the first match against Houston? The Astros have relaxed of late. The Athletics aren't gaining much either, but with Blackburn, they are capable of winning the game on the slide. Prediction: Oakland to win the low-scoring match.

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