AAA's AMERICAN LEAGUE Over/Under "ASSASSIN!"
(MLB) Oakland vs. Chi White Sox, 09/08/2014 4:10 PM, Score: 4 - 5
Total: 8.00 | -105.00 Under
Result: Win
This is an 8* OVER/UNDER ASSASSIN on the OVER between the Oakland Athletics and the Chicago White Sox.

A couple of decent starters go head to head in the opener of this three game set, but when the smoke does finally clear at the end of this one, I look for the total to sneak above the posted number. This is an important series for the scuffling Oakland A's who would give up two runs in the ninth in a 4-3 loss to Houston yesterday. A date vs. the struggling White Sox is just what the doctor ordered to get untracked; note that Oakland is still two games ahead of Seattle for the AL's top wild card spot but is just 8-18 since August 9th. A series in Seattle after this makes this current one even more important: "We have to find a way to create our own momentum," A's manager Bob Melvin said last night. "It's all about winning games." Chicago would love nothing more than to play spoiler obviously and to try and build some kind of positive momentum after scoring six runs and batting just .197 in four consecutive setbacks, including yesterday's lacklustre 2-0 loss in Cleveland. The visitors send Sonny Gray (13-8, 3.25 ERA) to the hill; Gray for the most part has been excellent this year, but he's starting to show some signs of slowing down, most recently he was shelled for six runs over five innings in a 6-5 loss to Seattle on Tuesday; in fact, if we dig just a little deeper, we see that Gray has been struggling for quite some time now, he's just 1-5 with a ballooned 5.11 ERA over his last seven starts overall. The home side counters with Hector Noesi (8-9, 4.70 ERA) who gave up three runs over seven frames in a 6-3 win at Minnesota on Tuesday. Noesi has been decent of late, but I think runs into a buzzaw today; note that Oakland also benefits with the expected return of catcher John Jaso. When taking into account all of the above factors, all signs point to the OVER as the sharp wager in this one.

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