Both the Colorado Rockies and the Texas Rangers could have wished for a better start to the second half of the season. The Rangers lost two of three at Houston and were demolished in yesterday's 10-0 defeat while the Rockies lost two at San Diego before Sunday's game was postponed. I like Rockies to pick up their first win since the All Star break tonight.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Pitching - The Rangers hand the ball to Nick Martinez (5-5, 3.43 ERA) who'll make his first start since July 1 as he was sent down to Triple-A Round Rock shortly after allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings of a 4-2 loss at Baltimore. He's 0-3 with a 6.27 ERA in his last three starts in the big leagues. The Rockies will counter with 28 year old southpaw Chris Rusin (3-3, 3.98 ERA) who tossed two scoreless innings out of the bullpen in an 11-3 win against Atlanta his last outing. He's 1-1 with a 2.73 ERA in his last five appearances and 2-0 with a 3.32 ERA in three home starts for the year.

2. Situational - The Rangers are 1-5 in their last six road games when facing a left-handed starter and also 1-5 in their last six interleague games.

3. X-Factor - No team in the major-leagues has been swinging their bats as good in their own ballpark as the Rockies who have a .305 team batting average at Coors Field for the season.

Selection: This is a play on the Colorado Rockies (10*)