MLB: Oakland Athletics - Houston Astros

Andre | 21st Jul. 2023 | Sport: Baseball

Betting tips: Will this came end even close?
My first two bets were not successful, but I am not letting that discourage me. Today I look at the MLB, which is the only major American league in action at the moment. I have chosen to focus on the Oakland Athletics - Houston Astros game, which I think will be one of the biggest games of the night. If you want to see some good baseball, you should watch Rangers vs Dodgers or Rays vs Orioles. Oakland is one of the worst teams in the MLB this year and the fans are even boycotting their home games. This franchise is a shadow of its former self and will hopefully move to another city with a new owner in the near future. For me, the Astros are the clear favourites here, which is why I will be recommending the Astros handicap in the betting tips.

Can the Astros defend their title?
The Astros are the reigning MLB champions, and last year they had a really exciting final series against the Philadelphia Phillies. This year, things have been a bit sluggish, partly due to injuries. But I am convinced that the Houston Astros will be back to their best just in time for the playoffs and will be one of the favourites for the title. The team has a lot of talent and really good coaching. But back to the here and now, the Oakland Athletics have to be beaten tonight.

Why are they so bad?
Oakland has only won 27 games this year (in 99 games). You need to know this about baseball: Every team has an owner, and the owner decides how much money to spend. In the NBA, for example, each team has to spend at least 90% of its allotted salary (which is around $160 million in the NBA). Oakland's players earn a total of $34,743,121, the lowest in the league. As a result, fans are extremely angry with the team's owner, who does not seem to care about "his" team. By comparison: The New York Mets are in first place with $253,637,855. The logical conclusion is that Oakland has no good players on its roster and is therefore not very competitive. Ironically, the film 'Moneyball', in which the Oakland Athletics star in the early 2000s, shows how to make a lot of money on a small budget.

My Oakland vs. Houston prediction
Alex Bregman of the Houston Astros earns as much as the entire A's team, and that should say it all about the distribution of roles. The big advantage tonight is that Framber Valdez is starting for the Astros as a pitcher. Pitching is the most important position in baseball and often makes the difference between victory and defeat. Valdez has an ERA (Earned Runs Allowed) of 2.76 and a WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning) of 1.07. This puts him among the absolute elite in the MLB and makes him a contender.

Bet: Bet 2 - 1,5

The best odds are with NEO.bet: 1,74