Oakland Athletics vs San Francisco Giants Picks and Predictions August 17th 2024

First pitch for Saturday’s interleague matchup between the Giants and Athletics is set for 7:07 PM ET from Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, CA. The money line odds have the Giants as the favorite, with their line sitting at -134 compared to the Athletics at +114. The over/under line is currently 8.5 runs.

NSPCA will be televising Saturday’s game, and Hayden Birdsong is starting for the Giants, who are 62-62 this season. The Athletics are 52-70 and will have Osvaldo Bido on the mound. In the NL West, the Giants are 4th, while the Athletics are 5th in the AL West.

San Francisco vs. Oakland Key Information

Right-hander Hayden Birdsong gets the start for the Giants today as he faces the Athletics on the road. He has made eight starts this year and has a record of 3-2 with an ERA of 5.40. Birdsong’s WHIP for the season is 1.39, and opponents are batting .224 off him this year. In his most recent outing, Birdsong took the loss, going 4 1/3 innings and giving up five earned runs. Before that, he had won two straight starts. Birdsong’s ERA on the road is 10.49 compared to 4.49 at home.

San Francisco’s offense is averaging 4.4 runs per game this season, which has them 15th in the league. They have been pretty consistent at home and on the road, averaging 4.3 and 4.4 runs per game, respectively. Overall, the Giants are batting .243, which is 13th in the league, and are 17th in home runs.

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Matt Chapman and Heliot Ramos have been the Giants’ top power threats this season, with Chapman leading the team with 19 homers and Ramos right behind him with 17. Chapman also leads the team with 61 RBIs. Over his last six games, Tyler Fitzgerald has gone 9/26 with two homers.

Right-hander Osvaldo Bido is getting the start for the Athletics today as he faces the Giants at home. Bido has made 11 appearances this year and has a record of 3-3 to go along with a 3.92 ERA. In his 39 innings of work, he has turned in two quality starts and is averaging 9 strikeouts per nine innings. Bido’s most recent outing was a good one, as he didn’t give up a run in six innings of work vs. the Blue Jays. Before that, he had given up at least two earned runs in three straight outings. The right-hander has been much better at home, coming in with an ERA of 4.41 compared to 4.3 on the road.

As a team, the Athletics are averaging 4.1 runs per game, which is 25th in the league. They have been slightly better at home, averaging 4.4 runs per game. Overall, they are the league’s 5th best home run hitting team, but their team batting average of .232 is just 18th in the league. Brent Rooker is the team’s top power threat, as his 29 home runs are 9th best in the league, and he also comes into the game with a team-high 83 RBIs.

Shea Langeliers has been hot of late, batting .545 over his last six games, and he has also gone deep once during this stretch. JJ Bleday is also swinging a hot bat, going 10/30 in his last eight games with two homers. Bleday also has a four-game hitting streak heading into today’s game.

For a money-line pick, our lean would be on the Giants to come out on top. And with our projections pointing to this as the 4th highest-scoring game of the day, we would be leaning towards taking the over. Looking at the starters for this matchup, we like Hayden Birdsong’s strikeout potential over Osvaldo Bido, and we have the Giants offense finishing with the 2nd most team strikeouts in today’s slate of games.

Giants and Athletics Look to Build Momentum in Bay Area Showdown

The San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics both enter their impending two-game series on the ascent, with each group hoping to keep up with their energy as they seek after their particular objectives. The Giants, planning to advance their situation in the National League wild-card race, will confront their neighborhood matches, the Athletics, beginning Saturday evening in Oakland.

Giants Seek to Strengthen Playoff Push

The Giants, who were 49-55 on the morning of July 26 and thought about likely venders at the exchange cutoff time, have since turned their season around. They benefited from an ideal timetable, going 12-4 during a 16-game stretch against groups with losing records. This flood brought them back into the main part of the season finisher race, however their force was somewhat derailed when they dropped three of four games to the Atlanta Braves recently.

Nonetheless, the Giants figured out how to win the series finale against the Braves, a triumph they desire to expand on as they head into matchups against two more sub-.500 groups: the An’s and the Chicago White Sox. The Giants recently split a two-game home series against the A’s during their new flood, yet this time they show up with another weapon in their setup.

The Emergence of Grant McCray

Outfielder Grant McCray has quickly made an impact in just two games with the Giants. The 23-year-old center fielder played a pivotal role in Thursday’s 6-0 victory, contributing with a successful squeeze bunt and hitting his first big-league home run. Giants manager Bob Melvin has praised McCray’s overall game, noting that his athleticism and defensive prowess have already made a difference.

“It’s about the defense right now; it’s more athleticism,” Melvin said. “We’ve seen what we’ve gotten from Tyler (Fitzgerald at shortstop) … Another speed, dynamic guy on the bases.” McCray’s contributions add another layer of versatility to the Giants’ lineup as they look to continue their playoff push.

Athletics Riding a Wave of Success

The Athletics, despite their struggles earlier in the season, have seen a resurgence in recent weeks. Oakland has won seven of their last eight series, including victories over playoff contenders like the Philadelphia Phillies, Houston Astros, and most recently, the New York Mets. This stretch has highlighted the potential of several young talents on the A’s roster.

The A’s enter the series against the Giants on a high note, having completed a 7-6 come-from-behind victory over the Mets on Thursday to secure a road series win. Catcher Shea Langeliers was a standout performer in the series against New York, reaching base safely 11 times, including five times in each of the two wins. Langeliers’ impressive performance marked the first time since 1941 that an A’s catcher had reached base 11 or more times in a single series.

“It’s a lot of fun getting on base,” Langeliers said. “I’m seeing the ball well, putting together good at-bats and just building confidence. Just get a good pitch and put a good swing on it. I’m finding that just keeping it that simple, you’re capable of stacking good days on top of each other.”

Langeliers was also a key contributor in the previous series against the Giants, where he helped the A’s to a 5-2 victory in the opener with a double and a single.

Pitching Matchup: Birdsong vs. Bido

The pitching matchup for Saturday’s series opener highlights two generally new faces. The Giants will send youngster right-hander Hayden Birdsong to the hill. Birdsong (3-2, 5.40 ERA) has battled in his last two beginnings, permitting a sum of 12 procured runs more than 6 1/3 innings against the Washington Nationals and Detroit Tigers. This will be Birdsong’s most memorable vocation start against the Athletics.

On the other side, the Athletics will counter with right-hander Osvaldo Bido. Bido (3-3, 3.92 ERA) is in his second year in the majors and is coming off the best start of his career. In his most recent outing, Bido shut down the Toronto Blue Jays, holding them to just two hits over six scoreless innings in a 1-0 road win. While Bido has limited experience against the Giants, he did face them as an opener for the Pittsburgh Pirates in July 2023, where he allowed three runs over 2 2/3 innings.

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Bay Area Rivalry with Playoff Implications

As the Giants and Athletics go head to head in this Sound Region standoff, the two groups are hoping to proceed with their vertical directions. For the Giants, these games address a chance to set their situation in the season finisher race before they enter a seriously difficult piece of their timetable. In the mean time, the An’s are centered around building certainty and acquiring significant experience for their young players as they hope to complete the season solid.

With the two groups falling off helpful triumphs and riding forward movement, this two-game series is set to be a thrilling section in the continuous competition between the Giants and Athletics. Whether it’s the Giants’ season finisher desires or the Athletics’ journey for proceeded with progress, there’s a lot in question as these two groups conflict on the precious stone.