The Cleveland Indians are hoping to find the winning formula against the Oakland Athletics when they meet Saturday. The Indians (20-17), who trail the first-place Minnesota Twins by 4.5 games entering Saturday, are looking to notch their first series win in Oakland since taking two of three March 31-April 2, 2014. The Athletics (18-22), who trail the Houston Astros by 6.5 games in the AL West, had lost six of their past nine games but had won five of their past nine home games. Game time is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. ET from Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Cleveland is -120 on the money line (risk $120 to net $100), while the over-under for total runs scored is set at eight in the latest Indians vs. Athletics odds. You'll want to see the MLB predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model before laying any Indians vs. Athletics picks down.
This model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, has raked in the winnings for those following its picks in multiple sports. It entered Week 7 of the MLB season on a strong 73-51 run on top-rated picks.
Now the model has dialed in on Indians vs. Athletics. We can tell you it's leaning over, and it also says one side of the money line has all the value. You can only see that pick at SportsLine.
Pitching has been a backbone of the Indians' success this season and continues to carry the light-hitting club. Cleveland holds the statistical edge over Oakland in a number of pitching categories, including ERA (3.69 to 4.38), WHIP (1.21 to 1.29), walks allowed (108 to 130), strikeouts (346 to 310) and opponents' batting average (.219 to .239). Closer Brad Hand (2-1, 1.08 ERA) has slammed the door on the opposition this season with 10 saves. He has four saves and two wins over his past six outings.
Offensively, outfielder Tyler Naquin (.271) is coming off a solid series against the White Sox, where he went 3-for-8 with two RBIs. Although catcher Roberto Perez (.227) had a six-game hitting streak snapped last weekend, he rebounded Thursday by going 2-for-2 with an RBI versus Chicago.
But just because Cleveland is strong on the mound does not mean it is the best value on the Indians vs. Athletics money line.
That's because the Athletics have had the edge over the Indians recently. Oakland has won the last two season series against the Indians and seven of the past 10, and had won seven of the past nine games vs. Cleveland overall, and nine of 11 against the Indians at Oakland.
The Athletics also hold a statistical advantage over the Indians in nearly every offensive category, including team batting average (.239 to .219), on-base percentage (.316 to .302), slugging percentage (.398 to .345), runs scored (176 to 129), hits (320 to 252), doubles (60 to 46), triples (4 to 0), homers (48 to 33), total bases (532 to 397) and RBIs (168 to 116). Shortstop Marcus Semien (.289) leads the offense. He has 12 multi-hit games this season, including two three-hit performances.
So who wins Athletics vs. Indians? And which side of the money line has all the value? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Athletics vs. Indians money line you should be all over, all from the advanced model that has crushed its MLB picks, and find out.
