Texas at Oakland

The Oakland A's completed the first half of the season with a 42-39 record. They have since gone 29-37, and just 6-12 over their last 18. The surprise has been the total collapse of the pitching staff. The A's have allowed 117 runs over their last 18 games or 6.5 runs a game. Chad Gaudin is a big part of that collapse. The A's were 11-3 in his first 14 starts, and Gaudin was pitching to a stellar 2.85 ERA. They have now gone 5-11 in his last 16 starts, and Gaudin has pitched to a 5.94 ERA. The Rangers have been on a different path. They finished the first half of the season just 34-47, but have been 35-29 since and most recently 13-4. The Rangers are motivated to get out of the basement in the AL West and leave Oakland sitting at the bottom. Kevin Millwood has taken the opposite path of Gaudin. Millwood had a 7.62 ERA in mid-June. Millwood has pitched to a 3.97 ERA over his last 16 starts. That includes 12 of 16 games with three runs or less, seven of his last 13 with one run or less, and the Rangers have won his last three starts. We like the Rangers to take game 1.