Oakland A’s vs. Cleveland Indians Preview + Free Pick

[Shame About Ray]

While the Cleveland Indians, (18-18, 17-19 RL) failed to complete a four-game sports betting sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays by losing to Toronto 3-0 in the second half of their doubleheader on Monday night, after winning the opener 3-0, the Indians have won five of their last seven games and enter tonight’s online betting contest against the Oakland A’s, (23-16, 23-16 RL) looking to get back to their winning ways against an Athletics team that has also won five of their last seven games in the BetUS Sportsbook, including an emphatic 12-6 rout of the Texas Rangers on Sunday.

Veteran right-hander, Paul Byrd, (1-3, 4.28 ERA), will take the mound in the sports betting series opener against the A’s looking to bounce back from what may be his worst start of the season as he was rocked for five runs on eight hits including three home runs in 6 1/3 innings of Thursday’s 6-3 road loss to the New York Yankees.
Byrd also got pounded by the A’s on April 4, allowing five runs, (three earned) in 4 1/3 innings as the Indians lost 6-3.

The A’s will counter with blossoming right-hander Justin Duchscherer (3-1, 2.45 ERA) who is coming off a commanding performance as he limited the Baltimore Orioles to two runs on a scant four hits in seven innings to help Oakland to a 4-2 win on Tuesday.

Here is a look tat tonight’s key trends followed by my analysis and MLB Gambling Free Picks:

The Athletics are 5-2 in Duchscherer’s last 7 starts.
The Athletics are 5-2 in Duchscherer’s last 7 starts on grass.
The Indians are 7-2 in Byrd’s last 9 starts as a favorite.
The Indians are 6-2 in Byrd’s last 8 starts during game 1 of a series.
The Over is 5-1 in Duchscherer’s last 6 starts overall.
The Under is 5-0 in Byrd’s last 5 starts overall.
The Over is 4-1 in Byrd’s last 5 starts vs. Athletics.
The Athletics are 8-17 in the last 25 meetings in Cleveland.

Analysis: While Indians veteran starter Paul Byrd is 1-0 at home in three starts this season with a microscopic 1.86 ERA, something tells me that Oakland’s Duscherer is going to limit the Indians to very little at the plate while helping the A’s pull out a surprising victory.

MLB Free Picks: Oakland 5 Cleveland 3

07:05 PM EST Baseball Odds

Oakland Athletics
Justin Duchscherer - R +1½ -200

Cleveland Indians
Paul Byrd - R -1½ +170

Over 8½ -120
Under 8½ EV

American League

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