It’s a matchup of two young right-handers on the mound Wednesday afternoon from Cleveland as the Athletics start young ace Frankie Montas against the Tribe’s Jefry Rodriguez. The Guardians are the slight home dog on the MLB betting lines.
How to Bet Athletics vs Indians MLB Odds & Game Info
🎶NEAR…..FAR……WHEREVVVVER PROFAR!🎶#RootedInOakland pic.twitter.com/VyaLVWylP3
— Oakland A’s (@Athletics) 22 de mayo de 2019
- When: Wednesday, 1:10 PM ET
- Where: Progressive Field
- Probable pitchers (away/home): Frankie Montas/Jefry Rodriguez
- TV: MLB Network
- MLB Odds: Oakland Athletics -125 (Total 9.5)
Why Bet on Oakland?
Monitor the status of slugging A’s DH Khris Davis. He didn’t play Monday vs. the Tribe. Davis has admitted that he’s still not fully recovered from the left hip injury that he suffered back on May 5. He’s been in and out of the lineup since then and it sounds like the A’s plan to continue giving him periodic rest. They do not think he’ll require a stint on the injured list.
Davis has homered twice in his 10 games since the injury, but he has said repeatedly he feels the injury has cost him some power. He’s still getting on base, mostly via singles, going 5 for his past 12; he’s hitting .351 in May with nine runs and six RBIs, plus a .969 OPS.
When the A’s are at their best, it’s when they’re hitting homers. That’s been the case over the past week. They added three more on Monday to make it 12 in their past five games. Jurickson Profar and Matt Olson hit the first two off Indians starter Carlos Carrasco, but the most clutch one came from Matt Chapman in the ninth. Chapman also singled home a run in the seventh, for a two-hit, three-RBI night. Entering the night 3-for-23 over his past six games, Chapman worked closely with hitting coach Darren Bush pregame to make some adjustments at the plate.
Frankie Montas is emerging as the A’s top pitcher, coming off a career-best performance of 8 2/3 innings and 10 strikeouts in a win over the Tigers. The right-hander was closing in on his first career complete game, but Miguel Cabrera’s second double of the night brought home a run in the ninth and sent Montas to the showers after 109 pitches (73 strikes). He’ll have a 2.67 ERA and outstanding 52:11 K:BB ratio through 54 innings.
Montas allowed just two earned runs over six innings in a start against Cleveland at the Oakland Coliseum earlier this month.
Team Stats
Offense- Runs: 4.76
- Hits: 8.33
- Walks: 3.53
- Strike Outs: 7.71
Defense
- Runs: 4.41
- Hits: 8.06
- Walks: 3.33
- Strike Outs: 8.02
Why Bet on Cleveland?
The Indians are without two starting pitchers in Corey Kluber and Mike Clevinger, and right fielder Tyler Naguin is also on the injured list. Per manager Terry Francona, Naquin won’t resume baseball activities for another two weeks. The 28-year-old has hit .278 with a homer, 10 RBI and three steals this season.
Following Monday’s loss, the Tribe are 3-7 over their last 10 games against Oakland but are 7-4 over the last 11 meetings at Progressive Field. Cleveland is 8-6 against the AL West in 2019 and is 46-31 against the division since the start of the 2017 season. Francisco Lindor holds a .303 career average against Oakland, 12th-best in the Majors since 2015 (min. 25 games).
Cleveland has been one of the best hitting teams with two outs and runners in scoring position this season, ranking 3rd in the Majors in batting average in the situation at .271 behind Milwaukee (.274) and Seattle (.284). Cleveland’s 45 hits with 2 outs and runners in scoring position are 4th-most in the AL. Indians pitchers have also performed well in clutch situations, holding opponents to a .177 average with two outs and runners in scoring position, the best mark in the Majors. The Indians have allowed only 36 runs in the situation, the fewest in the Majors.
The Tribe’s Jefry Rodriguez allowed four runs on seven hits with five strikeouts and one walk across 6.2 innings while taking a loss against the Orioles on Friday. While Rodriguez largely corrected his walk issues, he yielded two homers in the loss. It’s still a small sample size, but Rodriguez has allowed four home runs and nine walks in five starts during 2019. He is 1-3 with a 3.45 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 20 strikeouts in 31.1 innings this season. In his last four starts, the righty has thrown at least six innings, the longest streak in his career.
Team Stats
Offense- Runs: 3.96
- Hits: 7.19
- Walks: 3.81
- Strike Outs: 8.91
Defense
- Runs: 3.77
- Hits: 7.49
- Walks: 2.89
- Strike Outs: 9.34
Athletics vs Indians MLB Betting Trends
- Athletics are 5-1 in Montas’ last 6 starts vs. American League Central
- Indians are 21-7 in their last 28 Wednesday games
- Under is 5-1 in Montas’ last 6 starts vs. a team with a winning record
- Athletics are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games when playing on the road against Cleveland
- The total has gone UNDER in 14 of Oakland’s last 19 games against an opponent in the American League Central division
- Indians are 1-5 SU in their last 6 games against an opponent in the American League West division
- The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Cleveland’s last 9 games at home
Expert Final Score Prediction for Athletics vs Indians
Oakland Athletics 4 – Cleveland Indians 3
