SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) – Kevin Millwood had done enough by the end of his first season with the Texas Rangers to affirm his standing as their No. 1 starter.

Millwood won 16 games and was a workhorse in his Texas debut last year, matching the AL lead with 34 starts and pitching 215 innings. He had a nearly 3-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio and was impressive on the road.

Still, Millwood feels he could have done more.

“There were some games in there where if I could have pitched just a little bit better, I could have won three or four more games easily,” Millwood said. “It’s not bad, but I still feel like it could have been better, and probably should have been a little bit.”

While Millwood still played plenty of golf this offseason, he also spent more time at the ballpark working out with Rangers strength coach Jose Vazquez.

“I’ve done a little more in the offseason this year to get ready,” Millwood said. “So physically, I feel a little better. But I haven’t made any wholesale changes.”

Going into his 11th major league season, the 32-year-old Millwood (16-12, 4.52 ERA last season) is ahead of schedule from last spring, even though he was bothered early by a sore calf muscle.

The right-hander is scheduled to pitch in his second “B” game Wednesday, nearly a week earlier than his first action against outside competition last year. He threw 11 of 14 pitches for strikes with two strikeouts in an extended four-out inning Friday.

Maybe the few tweaks in his preparation will be the difference for Millwood to get off to a better start this season.

Millwood lost his first two starts at home in the opening week last season, trailing 5-0 when he left both games. He didn’t have a winning record at home until he won four straight starts there in the closing weeks.

“I don’t know why I got off to a slow start,” Millwood said. “I just feel like I’m in a little better shape and don’t work so hard while I’m here to get to that point, and maybe be able to spend a little more time on just the pitching side.”

While Millwood struggled at home last season, he didn’t lose on the road until the end of June. His 34 starts were split equally at home (7-7, 5.38 ERA) and on the road (9-5, 3.74).

Rangers rookie manager Ron Washington spent the last 11 seasons in Oakland watching pitchers like Barry Zito, Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson. He likes what he sees in pitcher topping his rotation.

“He’s a bulldog. … He does his thing for the team, and was taught very well in Atlanta,” Washington said. “He’s a perfectionist, but when things don’t work out the way you want them to work, he’s still in the game. And that’s what good pitchers do.”

As a young starter in Atlanta, Millwood was in a rotation that included Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz. Millwood was 18-8 with a 3.24 ERA for the Braves in 2002, then was traded to Philadelphia a year before becoming eligible for free agency.

After two seasons with the Phillies, re-signing the second year as a free agent, Millwood left for Cleveland and led the AL with a 2.86 ERA despite a losing record in his only season there. Then came his $60 million, five-year deal with Texas.

Millwood has a 123-87 career record with a 3.85 ERA. And he’s comfortable in the No. 1 spot of a rotation in which he and three others (Vicente Padilla, Brandon McCarthy and Robinson Tejeda) are under the Rangers’ control through at least 2009.

“I started out in the No. 5 hole and just kind of moved up gradually throughout my career,” Millwood said. “Hopefully, that does take some pressure off those other guys and they can just go out and pitch.”