9* Afternoon POWER-BLAST ~ WON 9 STRAIGHT MLB SIDES!
(MLB) Houston vs. Oakland, 08/08/2020 4:10 PM, Score: 1 - 3
Money Line: -140.00 Oakland (Home)
Result: Win
9* Oakland (4:10 ET): The A’s stunned the Astros last night to win their 7th in a row. They now lead the AL West by 3.5 games. Last night’s game went 13 innings and after Houston scored in the top half of the frame, Oakland answered back with two runs of its own. The Astros have now lost three in a row dating back to its series with Arizona. Last night’s result will almost certainly have a “carryover” effect given how it went down. I’ll back the A’s in what it is a “statement series” for them.

All seven of Oakland’s wins during this current streak have come against division rivals. But the previous six came at the expense of Texas and Seattle, neither of whom is very good. Beating the Astros, who are the standard-bearers of the division is a big deal. With all the controversy surrounding the ‘Stros this year (cheating scandal) and the shortened 60-game schedule, this would seem to be an ideal season for the A’s to make their move to the top of the AL West. So far, so good.

Houston is giving up far too many runs this year due to a combo of no depth in the starting rotation and a bad bullpen. Pitching was not the problem yesterday, but they also had Zack Greinke starting yday. We’ll see how Framber Valdez does here. The last time he faced the A’s, it was part of a 21-7 loss last September. The Astros’ bullpen was good yday, but entered the game with a 1.70 WHIP. Frankie Montas starts for Oakland and he’s allowed just 4 ER in 16 IP so far. Houston is likely without George Springer (leads team in HRs and RBIs) for the remainder of the series. 9* Oakland