Houston Astros vs. Oakland Athletics MLB Betting Preview | September 15

Christian Vazquez has 99 hits this season, and will try to get his 100th when his Houston Astros (93-50) play the Oakland Athletics (52-91) on Thursday at 7:20 PM ET. The Astros are favored (-320) over the Athletics (+261). Houston’s Lance McCullers Jr. and Oakland’s James Kaprielian pitch first for their squads in this matchup.

It’s time to get your parents, spouse, coworkers, third cousin and mailman together again. MLB pools are back! Hit your own home run with RunYourPool today.
Start here >

Game Info, Betting Lines for Astros vs. Athletics

• Game Day: Thursday, September 15, 2022
• Game Time: 7:20 PM ET
• TV Channel: FOX
• Location: Houston, Texas
• Stadium: Minute Maid Park

Astros Stats & Trends

Astros Batting

• The Astros are fifth-best in MLB play with 187 total home runs.
• The Astros rank 13th in the majors with a .245 batting average.
• The Astros are seventh in the league with a .319 on-base percentage.
• The Astros strike out 7.4 times per game, the third-best mark in the league.
• The Astros average 1.4 homers per home game this season (94 total at home).
• The Astros are slugging .434 with 3.1 extra-base hits per game at home.
• The club is batting .250 with 552 hits (eight per game) at home this season.

Astros Key Batters

• Alex Bregman has 35 doubles, 21 home runs and 81 walks while batting .268.
• Bregman is 46th in batting average, 11th in on-base percentage, and 31st in slugging among qualified hitters in MLB.
• Bregman has recorded at least one hit in five straight games. In his last five games he is batting .333 with a double, a home run, three walks and seven RBI.
• Yordan Alvarez has 121 hits and an OBP of .403, both of which lead the Astros this season.
• Among all qualified, Alvarez is 15th in batting average, fourth in on-base percentage and third in slugging percentage.
• Alvarez has picked up at least one hit in five straight games. In his last five games he is hitting .438 with three doubles, two home runs, six walks and two RBI.
• Kyle Tucker is batting .259 with a .483 slugging percentage and 96 RBI this year.
• Tucker has logged a hit or more in four games in a row. During his last five outings he is batting .273 with a double, three home runs, a walk and eight RBI.
• Jose Altuve leads Houston in slugging percentage (.509) thanks to 57 extra-base hits.

Athletics Stats & Trends

Athletics Batting

• The Athletics have hit just 123 homers this season, which ranks 26th in the league.
• The Athletics rank last in MLB with a team batting average of just .217.
• The Athletics have an on-base percentage of .281 this season, which ranks last in the league.
• The Athletics rank 17th in MLB in strikeouts per game with an average of 8.5 whiffs per contest.
• In 71 games on the road this season, they’ve hit 77 homers, an average of 1.1 per contest.
• In 71 road games this season, they’re slugging .376 with 193 hits going for extra bases.
• In 71 road games this season, they have a batting average of .230 while averaging 7.8 base hits per contest.

Athletics Key Batters

• Sean Murphy has put up a .331 on-base percentage and a .436 slugging percentage, both team-best numbers for the Athletics.
• Including all qualifying hitters, Murphy is 77th in batting average, while his on-base percentage is 67th and he is 61st in slugging.
• Tony Kemp is batting .235 with 22 doubles, a triple, six home runs and 41 walks.
• Including all qualifying hitters, Kemp is 108th in batting average, 101st in on-base percentage and 132nd in slugging percentage.
• Seth Brown leads the Athletics with 102 hits.
• Ramon Laureano is hitting .214 with 18 doubles, 13 home runs and 25 walks.

Astros vs. Athletics Probable Pitchers