Houston Astros vs. Oakland Athletics
Friday, April 2, 2021 – 09:40 PM EDT at O.co Coliseum
The Oakland Athletics are playing host to their American League West rival, Houston Astros as they open the 2021 season against one another. After the Astros took game one of the series 8-1, Oakland looks to bounce back.
Can Oakland Bounce Back After a Rough Opening Day?
The Athletics got absolutely rocked by the Astros potent offense. Michael Brantley, Jose Altuve, and Alex Bregman all had big days at the plate. Additionally, the Athletics could not do much right themselves at the dish, struggling to scratch across one run on six hits. Now the A’s get a chance to bounce back against their hated rival and there won’t be Zack Greinke standing on the mound. Rather they will get a chance to get even against Cristian Javier.
We all saw Oakland last year and the kind of team they are. They are a very good team that will grind out wins throughout the course of the season. They are a resilient bunch and I don’t think the Opening Day loss is going to linger at all. I expect the Athletics to come out on Friday evening and look for the opportunity to get back to even and get their win back from the hated Houston Astros.
Will The Astros Pitching Hold Up?
The Astros offense looked absolutely fantastic in their dominant Opening Day win over these Athletics. Zack Greinke was amazing and the bats were alive from the start. Now tonight is going to be a bit different because they will face Jesus Luzardo who has dominated the Astros in limited action against them. The Astros also may find some motivation because of the loud, audible chants of “cheaters” by the Oakland faithful. This team likely knows they will face that all year, but it has to provide some incentive to give the home team the business in front of those heckling fans.
Betting Analysis:
I think this is a short line and it makes sense right. The Astros came out and lit up the A’s in their opener. But let’s not discount this Athletics team. They are a very good team and they are tough outs at the plate. Further, tonight they have the distinct pitching advantage. Luzardo has dominated the Astros and Cristian Javier has not exactly been amazing. I think this is a prime bounce back spot for the home team. People will overreact early in the season to one or two games and this is the prime example.
MLB Pick: Athletics ML (-135) at BetMGM
