The New York Yankees host the Oakland Athletics in the AL Wild-Card Game on Wednesday night. The winner gets to face the best team in the majors during the regular season, the Boston Red Sox, in the AL Division Series. Be sure to check the MLB odds right before placing your betting ticket.
Athletics vs Yankees MLB AL Wild Card Odds & Expert Pick
The Late Inning A’s offense was able to do what they did because of our tremendous bullpen. The A’s bullpen won 45 games, which were second most in @MLB history by a bullpen to the Tampa Bay Rays’ 55 victories this year. pic.twitter.com/owUlDGVuUV
— Oakland Athletics 🌳🐘⚾️ (@Athletics) 1 de octubre de 2018
- When: Wednesday, 8 PM ET
- Where: Yankee Stadium
- Probable pitchers (away/home): TBA
- TV: TBS
- Live Stream: MLB.tv
- Radio: TuneIn
- MLB Postseason Odds: TBA
2018 WORLD SERIES ODDS TO WIN
Weather Forecast
- Partly Cloudy: 22°C/71°F
- Humidity: 76%
- Precipitation: 4%
- Cloud Cover: 47%
- Wind: 7 mph ENE
- Stadium Type: Open
Season Series
These teams split six regular-season games with the Yankees winning two of three at home. New York and Oakland haven’t played postseason baseball since 2001 when the Yankees won the ALDS in five. Oakland has never won a playoff series vs. the Yankees.
Why Bet on Oakland?
We don’t know Oakland’s starter as of this writing, but it’s not really going to matter as the team is expected to use a “bullpen” game and just start an “opener” who pitches one inning. Some believe that will be Liam Hendriks. Hendriks once again played the role of opener Saturday, pitching a scoreless first inning in Oakland’s 5-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels. The right-hander has not allowed a run in his last 11 outings and has compiled a 1.38 ERA in 13 innings this month.
“He’s done a really good job with it,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. “He’s the one guy who’s been consistent in getting that particular role. He knows he’s going to be out there for a limited time and he doesn’t have to pace himself. He’s handled it really well.”
The Oakland rotation is really banged up and struggling so this would make sense as it would allow Melvin to take advantage of his cadre of high-quality relief options to quiet a power-packed Yankees lineup. Hendriks served as an opener in eight of his 25 regular-season appearances, logging a 2.08 ERA and 7:3 K: BB across 8.2 innings in those outings.
The A’s were 70-1 when leading after seven innings and 79-1 when leading after eight this year. No other team lost fewer than three games when leading after seven innings and only the Mariners had fewer losses when leading after eight. The A’s were 31-13 (.705) in one-run games, which is the best record in the majors.
Meanwhile, Oakland’s Khris Davis won the MLB home-run title this season with 48 but more incredibly finished with a batting average of .247 for a fourth straight year. No player in MLB history had had the same batting average rounded to three decimal places in four consecutive seasons, with a minimum of 10 at-bats each year.
The A’s took Davis out for a pinch hitter in the sixth inning Sunday, ensuring that he would match the batting average again this season. But his home run totals have gone up every year, with 27 in 2015, 42 in 2016, 43 in 2017 and 48 this year. Since 2016 began, Davis has 133 homers, most in the majors in that span. The New York Yankees’ Giancarlo Stanton is second with 124.
Why Bet on NY Yankees?
Aaron Boone has yet to announce his starter Wednesday, but, again, it almost doesn’t matter with New York having such a deep bullpen. The Yankees obviously need to win this game but also need to set their rotation with an eye toward the Red Sox. It’s going to be either lefty JA Happ or right-handers Masahiro Tanaka or Luis Severino on Wednesday.
Happ is 7-0 with a 2.69 ERA in 11 starts since joining the Yankees, but he’s a lefthander, and Oakland features a predominantly right-handed-hitting lineup. Happ faced the A’s one time this season and was more than successful, allowing one run and two hits in six innings Sept. 4 in Oakland. Of the three potential starters, Happ has by far the best 2018 and career numbers against the Red Sox: 1-1 with a 1.99 ERA in four starts this season and 8-4 with a 2.98 ERA overall.
Severino had mixed results against the A’s this season, going 1-1 with a 6.32 ERA in two starts. Severino (19-8, 3.39 ERA) has been considered the ace all season but hasn’t pitched like one in the second half. He started the wild card game against the Minnesota Twins last October and recorded just one out. Tanaka did not face the A’s this season.
In 11 career games, including nine starts, against the A’s, Happ is 4-1 with a 3.47 ERA. Severino is 1-1 with a 5.23 ERA in four career starts against Oakland, while Tanaka is 3-2 with a 2.53 ERA in five career games. Could the Yankees be waiting until as late as possible to name a starter so the A’s can’t concentrate on one pitcher since more time and effort would be required to dissect three instead of one?
“We feel like option A, B, C, D, whatever way we go, is capable of really working out positively,” Boone said before the Yankees (100-62) lost to the Red Sox, 10-2, in Sunday’s regular-season finale. “So I kind of lean on everyone and take all the information and try and make the best decision that hopefully works out the best for us Wednesday. I view it as we’re working from a position of strength. Anyway we go, I have a lot of confidence in the ability to get it done.”
New York hit 266 homers this year to surpass the 1997 Mariners (264HR) for the most by a team in a single season in Major League history. The Yankees’ averages of 1HR/20.62AB and 1.65HR/G this season are the best in MLB history. Rookie Gleyber Torres finished one shy of 25 homers. That’s notable because New York just missed matching the 2003 Red Sox with six players hitting at least 25 homers.
Giancarlo Stanton has 38HR, 100RBI, and 102R this season, and is the 12th player in franchise history to reach each of those totals in a single season. He is just the fourth to reach those totals in his first season with the club, joining Mark Teixeira in 2009 (39HR, 122RBI, 103R), Jason Giambi in 2002 (41HR, 122RBI, 120R) and Babe Ruth in 1920 (54HR, 136RBI, 158R).
Athletics vs Yankees MLB Postseason Betting Trends
- Oakland is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games
- Oakland is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games when playing NY Yankees
- The total has gone OVER in 10 of Oakland’s last 14 games
- NY is 2-6 ATS in its last 8 games at home
- NY is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games at home
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of NY Yankees’s last 5 games at home
Expert MLB Betting Prediction for Athletics vs Yankees
Yankees are fabulous at home and will beat Oakland regardless of the starting pitchers.
