Baseball Press presents "The 606", a look at the most intriguing pitching matchup of the day, with a final prediction of the winning pitcher. You may be asking yourself "What exactly does The 606 mean? There's no major league baseball for that area code- it's in Eastern Kentucky!" BBP isn't listing players from Eastern Kentucky either. The 606 is short for 60 feet and 6 inches. If you still don't understand, I direct your attention to Official Rule 1.07 from Major League Baseball, referring to the distance from the pitching mound to home plate. Now that we've got that squared away, let's take a look at today's featured pitching matchup for Sunday, August 15th.

Yesterday in the 606, Brian Duensing had his best and longest start of the year and notched a complete game shutout over the Oakland A's.

Win: Brian Duensing (9 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 0.55 WHIP)

The 606 Season-to-Date Record (W-L-ND): 94-83-57, 3.78 ERA (613 ER in 1458.2 IP)

Dice-K and C.J. Wilson lead top AL squads on Sunday. (AP)

Today in the 606, a righthanded Japanese import leads the Red Sox into Arlington against a lefthanded former reliever in the midst of a career year for the Rangers.

RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka - BOS (8-3, 4.09 ERA) vs. LHP C.J Wilson - TEX (10-5, 3.30 ERA)
I don't think it would be false to say that Daisuke Matsuzaka never quite lived up to the hype that surrounded him when he first arrived in the United States as one of the most highly touted international signings in baseball history.  However, Dice-K has still managed to become a capable major league hurler, and a solid mid-rotation option for the Red Sox when he's not battling injuries.  This year, he's made 17 starts and has won 8 of them, clearly benefiting from run support in the Boston lineup.  As the Red Sox continue their fight for a playoff spot, Matsuzaka and his rotation mates will be key.  After a shaky May in which he posted a 5.77 ERA in 6 starts, he's settled down considerably, notching a 3.26 ERA since and generally getting the best of hitters with 62 strikeouts in 69 innings during that span.  He'll face the Rangers for the first time this season, and in his career he is 3-1 with a 5.09 ERA in 4 starts against them.

The C.J. Wilson show continues this weekend, as the former reliever once again toes the mound in his breakout season.  After a disappointing 3 inning, 4 run outing on August 4th against Seattle, Wilson bounced back with a no decision 5.1 inning, 2 run effort versus the formidable Yankee offense on August 10th and appears to be right back on track.  He's still among the league leaders in walks, something that could be improved upon for next season, but he also does a great job of not allowing opposing hitters to put good wood on the ball, as evidenced by his excellent 7.1 hits per nine innings rate, which ranks him among the league leaders.  He'll face a difficult lineup on Sunday, however, facing a Boston roster that, despite injuries, is still loaded with sluggers.  However, Wilson hasn't had much trouble with that squad this season, as he's faced them twice in Boston and done well, posting a 2-0 record with just 1 run allowed in 13.1 innings of work, including a 6.2 inning, 10 strikeout victory back on July 18th.  If he can do something similar this time around, he should wrangle another victory for the NL West-leading Rangers.

Final Prediction:  C.J. Wilson