Friday baseball and we will see the Baltimore Orioles take on the Oakland A's in game 1 of their 3 game series from O.Co Coliseum in Oakland, California. First pitch is scheduled for an 10:05 PM (Eastern) start time and the game will be televised locally.
Current Odds
Baltimore +140
Oakland -155
Over/ Under: 7 O -120
Analysis: The Baltimore Orioles has a solid first half of the year, going 52-42 to take a 4 game lead over the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL East. The Orioles are 26-19 on the road this year and they are also 11-6 vs the AL west on the year. The Orioles have been a very good offensive team this year, as they come in ranked 8th in scoring (4.31 rpg), 4th in hitting (.265), and 2nd in homers (114), but are alos dead last in stolen bases (26). The pitching for the Orioles has been below average, coming in ranked 17th in ERA (3.84) and 21st in WHIP (1.33). Getting the ball for the Orioles tonight will be Chris Tillman, who is 7-5 with a 4.11 ERA on the year overall, while on the road he is 6-0 with a 5.20 ERA. Dan is 4-1 with a 3.86 ERA in 6 career starts vs the Cardinals. Chris is 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA in 3 career starts vs the A's.
The Oakland A's start the 2nd half of the year with the best record in baseball. The A's are 59-26 overall and 30-15 at home, but still their lead in the AL West is down to just 1.5 games over a very hot LA Angels squad. The A's have been excellent on offense this year, ranking 2nd in the league in scoring (4.91 rpg), 16th in hitting (.251) and 7th in homers (98). The pitching has been just as good for the A's, as they are 2nd in ERA (3.09), 2nd in WHIP (1.16) and 4th in quality starts (61). Getting the ball for the A's tonight will be Jeff Samardzija, who will be making his 3rd start for the A's since being traded and so far he is 1-1 with a 2.40 ERA. Jeff has never faced the Orioles.
Pick: Looking at the Under in this one. It has come down to 7, so at the very least we could get a push. Jeff Samardzija has pitched really well this year and just hasn't got run support from either the Cubs or the A's. Jeff has a 2/40 ERA and an 0.67 WHIP in his 2 starts with the A's so far and his games have averaged just 5.5 rpg. He will take on an O's offense that struggled in their last 5 games before the break, averaging just 2.4 rpg over that stretch, plus Jeff has the added advantage of having never pitched vs the O's.In fact just 3 O's hitters have faced Jeff, with a total of 15 AB's between them. Chris Tillman is 6-0 on the road, with a 5.20 ERA, which indicates high scoring games, but in his last road starts he has a 1.29 ERA, while overall he as not allowed more than 3 ERs in his last 7 starts. Oh and he also has a 1.96 ERA in 3 career starts vs the A's. The Under is 12-3-2 in Tillman's last 17 games pitching on 5 days rest, while the Under is 7-1-2 in the A's last 10 games as a favorite. 5 or less scored here.
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