Athletics at Astros 7/11/18 - MLB Picks & Predictions

The Oakland Athletics continue their series on the road Wednesday at Minute Maid Park against the Houston Astros. In the opening game of the series on Monday, the A’s blanked the Astros 2-0 behind excellent pitching from starter Frankie Montas and strong work from two relievers. The three combined to allow just five hits by the Astros. Stephen Piscotty had both RBIs for the Al’s with a home run and RBI single.

Houston starter Gerrit Cole pitched well with 11 strikeouts and three singles over six shutout innings for a no-decision. Brad Peacock took the loss to fall to 1-4 and gave up Piscotty’s home run that gave the A’s a 1-0 lead. Jed Lowrie leads the A’s with a .288 batting average and team highs in hits with 100 and RBIs with 62. Khris Davis has the team lead in home runs with 21. Oakland has a team batting average of .246 while opposing hitters are averaging the same .244 at the plate against Athletics pitching. On Wednesday, the A’s will send Chris Bassitt to the mound. The right-hander this season is 1-3 with an ERA of 3.00, 24 Ks and 11 BBs.

Jose Altuve leads Houston with a .337 batting average and team high 123 hits. Evan Gattis leads the team in home runs with 18 and in RBIs with 62. Houston has a team batting average of .263 while opposing hitters are averaging .209 at the plate against Astros pitching. On Wednesday, the Astros will send Lance McCullers Jr. to the mound. The right-hander on the season is 10-3 with an ERA of 3.41, 118 Ks and 38 BBs.