Oakland Athletics at Houston Astros 9/16/22 - MLB Picks & Predictions

The Houston Astros host the Oakland Athletics on Sept. 16 for the second game of a four-game series. Entering Thursday’s game, Houston led the season series 9-6. Look for all the best MLB previews to better your winning chances.

The Astros have the best record in the American League at 93-50 and hold a 12.5-game lead over Seattle in the West Division. The A’s have the worst record in the AL at 52-91; the Washington Nationals (49-94) are the only Major League team with a worse record.

Houston has Cy Young Award candidate Justin Verlander set to return from the injured list to start this game. Verlander is 16-3 with a 1.84 ERA over 152 innings. He has struck out 154 while allowing 104 hits and 26 walks. Verlander has faced Oakland twice this season and has allowed eight hits, two walks and three earned runs with 16 strikeouts in 13 innings. In his last appearance against the A’s, Verlander struck out 10 over six shutout innings.

Adrian Martinez is scheduled to start for Oakland. He is 4-4 on the season with a 5.59 ERA in 38.2 innings. Martinez has given up 47 hits, walked 12 and struck out 31. He has not faced the Astros this season. Martinez was the loser in his previous start, giving up seven earned runs in 3.2 innings on the road against the White Sox.

Astros third baseman Alex Bregman has rebounded from a lackluster first half that saw him hit just .238 and slug .408. Bregman’s season-long batting average is up to .268, and his slugging percentage has reached .470 with his second-half surge. His .322 AVG and .411 SLG since the break both lead the team over that time.

Oakland 2B/LF Tony Kemp has hit .294 and slugged .458 since the All-Star break after seriously struggling in the first half (.203 AVG, .263 SLG). 1B/OF Seth Brown has also been much better in the second half. Brown’s first-half OPS was just .665 compared to .878 since. Brown leads the A’s with 12 home runs in the second half of the season.