Baseball statisticians love round numbers. Tonight in Oakland, the A’s go for their 20th win in a row against Paul Byrd and the Kansas City Royals.

20 is one of those lovely round baseball numbers.

As fate would have it, Tim Hudson goes to the hill for Oakland. There is no one who better epitomizes the grit of this team than the slender righty.

Not possessed of the smoothness on the mound of Mulder orZito, or the compact delivery of Cory Lidle, the high energy, full throttle every pitch Hudson gets the most out of his ability and is the spiritual and vocal leader of this team.

After the A’s won Sunday, the home plate umpire Steve Ripley had words with Hudson during the celebration. Hudson, who had been vehemently objecting to the missed calls by the veteran umpire in the ninth inning didn’t back down, but it should be interesting to see what kind of strike zone he gets tonight from the umpire.

What about the rest of the West? Click below.Anaheim has got to wonder when Jarrod Washburn will throw one of those midseason gems that he will need once again during the frantic 20 game stretch in the division which will determine his teams fate.

Experience is a huge factor in analyzing the race. The Angels have Kevin Appier who made it to the playoffs with the A’s once. Ramon Ortiz, John Lackey, Washburn, and Mickey Callaway haven’t sniffed an October game in their major league life.

I have to think this will catch up with Anaheim at some point when the going gets tough. The Angels offense is on more solid ground and will be relied on to bail out the pitchers.

Tonight Appier faces Tanyon Sturtze in Tampa. The Angels would like to pick up some ground before next Monday’s series begins with the A’s. They couldn’t be in a better place to try than Tampa, a team that might lose 110 games this year.

Seattle hopes to just stay close. Jamie Moyer has pitched extremely well against Minnesota, especially in his last start. Rick Reed is a decent righty, but I have a feeling Seattle will benefit from yesterday’s off day.

Pedro’s medical news didn’t sound promising. It looks like it may be a groin injury, if that is the case good bye Sox unless they pick up a legit starter, just for the last for three weeks. Derek Lowe looks for number 19 and if he gets it he still can win the Cy Young if Pedro doesn’t come back and Zito falls ever so slightly in his next five starts.

Andy Pettitte needs to show he is healthy and in playoff form. The Yankee pitching is shakier than they would like going into the stretch. Pettitte will be watched carefully to see how strong he really is.

Big start for Randy Johnson tonight, not only for his 20th win, but LA is kicking Arizona’s butt all over the desert and their lead is down to 4 games with 24 to play. Can you say ’64 Philadelphia Phillies?

Arizona’s lack of big time hitting is making Bob Brenly nervous. If Andy Ashby shuts down the Diamondbacks tonight, the pressure will mount even more since the Giants are next for Arizona.

Denny Neagle has pitched better the second half, actually reviving his wobbly career. Livan Hernandez is always capable of pitching poorly, so this one will be close.

The Giants got Bill Mueller from the Cubs yesterday. I have always admired the way Mueller plays the game. Pennant winning teams need players like Mueller, the Giants made a wise choice.

The A’s go for history. Eric Chavez and Miguel Tejada have been carrying the load regularly over the last two weeks. Tonight John Mabry, Eric Byrnes, David Justice and Jermaine Dye will factor into this game in a meaningful way.

If I’m Art Howe and part of the 40,000 expected tonight, I’ve got to feel pretty good with Hudson on the mound, he’s a guy you want next to you in the foxhole.

See ya, nice knowing you ’06 White Sox and ’47 Yankees, I say 20 is in the cards for the A’s tonight.