The set up: This is the opener of a three-game set between AL West foes. Oakland is hovering right around the .500 mark so far, sitting at fourth in the division. The A's are 6.5 games behind the Mariners, but seven games up on these very Rangers.

The pitching match-up: Oakland goes with Sean Manaea, who is 5-6 with a 3.60 ERA to this point. Manaea most recently gave up four runs off four hits with one walks and three K's over five innings in a setback to Tampa Bay on Wednesday. It wasn't his best outing, but Manaea still managed to induce 11 swinging strikes over 95 pitches and he'd walk just one batter or less for the eighth time in his last 12 trips to the hill. Manaea has to be feeling confident here as he's 3-2 with a 3.50 ERA on the road this season.

Matt Moore gets the call for the Rangers and he's just 1-5 with a brutal 7.85 ERA. Moore was lucky to earn a no-decision in his last outing as he'd give up five runs off eight hits and two walks over 5.1 innings to the Mariners on Wednesday. Moore can't be feeling terribly confident here either, as note that he's 0-3 with a 7.83 ERA at home this year.

The pick: Take it for what you will, but Oakland is already 2-1 this season as a road favorite in the -125 to -175 range, while Texas is just 5-7 as a home dog in the +125 to +175 range. No need to overthink this one gentlemen. In this important early season series, Manaea is the correct call in this particular matchup.