Houston Astros vs The Athletics Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 04/03/26

The Athletics return to Sacramento on Friday night to start the home portion of their regular season schedule and will host the Houston Astros, who are at the top of the National League West. The Astros have been red-hot on offense this season, but there are some reasons to believe that Jeffrey Springs will have their number on Friday night. Springs returned as a starter for the Athletics last season and appeared in 32 games, with 2 of those outings coming against the Astros. He allowed just 3 earned runs and 7 hits over 11 innings, shutting down most of the core of the lineup.

It might actually be the Astros’ starter, Cristian Javier, that will give bettors the most concern in this matchup. Javier was once a commodity in Houston’s rotation, but injury struggles during the 2024 and 2025 seasons led to a poor outing in his first start this year, allowing 2 home runs, 6 earned runs, and, worst of all, 4 walks over 4.2 innings. If control remains a problem against the Athletics, they could exploit Houston’s starter.

Despite all that, I think that Javier bounces back in this matchup and leads to a bit more of a low-scoring game in the Athletics’ home opener. The Astros are going from 7 home games to a minor league park, which doesn’t always benefit the hitter’s eye, while the Athletics will also be here for the first time this season. Take the pitchers to overcome the hitters in this matchup.

Astros vs Athletics prediction: Under 10 (+100) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.