Today’s Best Bets
FTN
We’ll head to the Oakland Coliseum Friday, as the Houston Astros and the Oakland Athletics face off in the first of a three-game weekend series. The Astros will aim to replicate their success from two weeks ago when they swept the A’s in a four-game series at home.
Houston Astros @ Oakland Athletics
It’s been an unexpected start to the season, with the Athletics and Astros surprisingly only separated by one game in the win column. The Astros, a team with a strong winning culture, had a rough patch, but there’s still plenty of baseball to be played. One of the few bright spots for Houston this season has been 27-year-old left fielder Kyle Tucker.
Tucker has been brilliant this season. He leads the majors with 17 home runs and has posted a .288 AVG, 1.060 OPS and 36 RBIs (ninth most). Friday, he gets a great matchup against veteran right-hander Ross Stripling. Stripling has struggled again to begin the year, entering with a 1-9 record with a 5.19 ERA.
Tucker comes in red-hot over his last seven games, posting a .348 AVG, 8 hits and 4 homers. He has been electric:
Kyle Tucker’s Recent Production:
- 1 HR in six of last seven road games
- 2+ total bases in seven of last 10 games
- 1 hit in 11 of last 15 games
This also appears to be a particularly good matchup for him:
Kyle Tucker vs. Ross Stripling’s Top 4 Pitches:
- 4SFB — .353 AVG, 5 HR, 10 Hits
- CH — .600 AVG, 1 HR, 6 Hits
- SL — .429 AVG, 2 HR, 6 Hits
- SNK — .273 AVG, 3 HR, 6 Hits
Friday presents a great spot for “King Tuck” to keep up his hot hitting on the road.
Best Bet
Kyle Tucker over 1.5 total bases (-115, DraftKings Sportsbook), 1 Unit
Ladder Play: Kyle Tucker 4+ Total Bases (+290, FanDuel Sportsbook), 0.50 Unit
