Let's forget April and May. In their last 29 games, the A's have the second-best record next to Toronto in the American League.



Oakland has won seven of its last nine and I like the A's chances today against Texas and 36-year-old Wandy Rodriguez.



Rodriguez has pitched surprisingly well on the road, but he's 0-2 at home with a 5.06 ERA. Just two starts ago he threw a season-high 122 pitches. He wasn't sharp in his last outing giving up three runs on nine hits in 5 1/3 innings at Dodgers Stadium against LA a week ago. I think that 122-pitch effort is going to have a lingering affect on him.



If you discount a one-run performance against Ian Kennedy, the A's are averaging 7.6 runs during their last eight games. Stephen Vogt is expected to be back in the lineup today, too, after being out with an elbow injury. He leads Oakland in homers and RBIs.



Oakland starter Kendall Graveman finally is showing that his strong spring wasn't a fluke. He has a 1.64 ERA in his last three starts while going at least seven innings in each game.