The Athletics are sitting just a half-game back in the AL Wild Card race and continue to be one of the hottest teams in baseball. Let’s find out if you should ride that momentum as one of your MLB picks on Saturday.
Oakland continues push
towards the playoffs
The Oakland Athletics
pushed its record to 26-13 since the start of July with last night’s 6-4
series-opening victory on Friday night, which happens to be the best mark in
the AL in that span. The pitching staff continues to be the team’s
strength, ranking fifth in the majors with a 3.50 ERA. Cleveland has
fallen off a cliff since the All-Star break, dropping 24 of 34 games, which
ends up being the lowest winning percentage of any club in the Junior Circuit
in that time.
Colon has started to
acclimate himself to the Coliseum
Athletics starting
pitcher Bartolo Colon (9-9, 3.55 ERA) has enjoyed throwing inside the
Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum over his last eight home starts, posting a 1.86
ERA in that span. The right-hander is 3-2 with a 2.47 ERA in eight starts
since being reinstated from the disabled list on July 3, which is the
ninth-best ERA in the AL over that period of time. In nine career starts
versus the Indians, Colon has tallied a 5-3 record and 3.56 ERA, including a
4-0 home win on June 11 as a member of the New York Yankees.
Corey Kluber (0-1,
8.56 ERA) is slated to make his fourth start of the 2012 MLB campaign, as he
looks to bounce back from his worst start of the year. The right-hander
suffered a 14-1 home loss to the Boston Red Sox last time out, allowing six
runs and seven hits over 3.1 innings of work. Kluber is allowing opposing
hitters to bat .355 on the season.
Saturday’s umpire
gives the home team an edge
Colon has made three
career starts with umpire Sam Holbrook calling balls and strikes, with his team
coming up with a victory in each instance. The home team is 13-11 and the
OVER is 13-9-2 in his 24 home plate assignments this year. It’s also
important to note that Oakland has won 11 of its last 16 games in this given
situation.
The Tribe fall short
in this role
Sports bettors will
take a look at the current MLB betting odds and notice that the Indians are
22-43 as a road underdog of +125 to +150 since 2010, while the Athletics are 19-17
as a home favorite of -150 to -175 over the same period of time.
Prediction
I recommend adding the Athletics to your sports picks in this spot due to the recent misfortunes of the Indians in
suffering a three-game losing streak. Cleveland is a sinking ship—one
that won’t be helped by a 26-year-old starting pitcher that’s backed up by a
bullpen that has a 4.86 ERA over the last 10 games.
MLB Pick: Oakland
Athletics -155