#962 ASA PLAY ON 8* Houston Astros -1.5 on the Run Line (-120) over Oakland Athletics, Friday at 8:10 PM ET - The Astros have won 4 straight games and are hosting an Athletics team that has the worst record in the league.  Oakland has a bullpen ERA of 6.62 which ranks dead last in the majors while Houston's relief pitching has a 3.15 ERA for one of the best marks in the majors.  The A's are 10-35 on the season and we like the Astros to win big here regardless of the starting pitchers.  However, the expected starting pitching match-up does favor Houston as well.  The expected starter for Houston is Brandon Bielak.  The starter slated for the Athletics is Ken Waldichuk.  The Oakland left-hander has a 7.02 ERA and opponents are hitting .310 against him in his 8 starts this season.  Bielak has limited action both this season and last season but his lone home start this season was solid and 2 of his 3 appearances at home last season (all were long relief appearances) were solid.  He can step up here again at home in Houston and deliver a solid start versus a bad Oakland team whose .214 batting average versus right-handers is the worst in the American League.  19 of 24 Astros wins have been by at least a 2-run margin this season.  80% of Athletics losses have been by a multi-run margin as 28 of their 35 defeats have been by 2+ runs.  Oakland has lost 9 of 11 games and each of the A's last 11 losses have been by 2+ runs.  Houston has won 7 of 8 games including 4 in a row.  This game has home blowout written all over it.  We like the Astros on the run line in this one.