Oakland Athletics vs. Los Angeles Dodgers – MLB, September 22, 2020

With six games left on their regular-season schedule, the 38-16 Los Angeles Dodgers are topping the NL West, four games ahead of the Padres, so they continue the race for the best record in the majors.

It’s hard to believe that San Diego can surpass LA, and the Dodgers should easily clinch the No. 1 seed in the National League. However, the upcoming three-game home series against the Oakland Athletics will be quite a challenge for the mighty Dodgers, who are the best team in baseball, too, three games ahead of the American League leader.

Hereof, I bring you the best Athletics vs. Dodgers betting pick and tips for the opening contest Tuesday, September 22.

While both Oakland and LA lean on some excellent pitching staff, the Dodgers possess way more offensive weapons than the A’s, so they are -155 favorites to win the opener.

The A’s are 33-20 and six games ahead of the Astros with seven games left on their regular-season slate, so Oakland will certainly win the AL West. They are No. 3 seed in the American League at the moment, but only 1.5 games behind the top-seeded Tampa Bay and one game away from the second-seeded White Sox and fourth-seeded Twins.

This is the clash of the two best bullpens in baseball. The Athletics lead the way with a 2.42 ERA, and the Dodgers’ relievers are right behind with a 2.86 ERA.

Frankie Montas will take the mound for the A’s, tallying his 10^th start in 2020. The righty is 3-4 with a 5.86 ERA and 1.53 WHIP, and over his last four outings, Montas has yielded 15 earned runs on 26 hits across 18.1 innings. He’s never met the Dodgers thus far.

Dustin May will take the hill for the hosts, and the righty is 1-1 in nine starts and one relief appearance this season. May owns a 2.68 ERA and 1.08 WHIP while limiting his opponents below three earned runs in each of his 10 outings. Dustin will get the A’s for the first time in his career.

As I’ve mentioned, the Dodgers are a better offensive team than the A’s by far. They are scoring 5.78 runs per game (2^nd in the MLB) on a .255 batting average (10^th) and .472 slugging percentage (2^nd).

The Dodgers hit the most home runs (100) in the majors this season, 36 more than the Athletics. Oakland is tallying 4.75 runs per game (12th) while batting only .226 (25th) and slugging .396 (21st).

The A’s and Dodgers will meet each other for the first time since 2018 when they split a four-game regular-season series. Oakland is 14-6 in its last 20 matchups with the Dodgers, but I’m going with the hosts in this one.

The Dodgers will look to clinch the best record in the league as soon as possible. Their offense has been terrific so far, and Frankie Montas hasn’t impressed recently.

The Athletics have dropped nine of their last 16 road contests, while the Dodgers are 12-3 in their previous 15 showings at home.