The Texas Rangers are coming into this contest on the back of three consecutive wins and claimed the opener of a three-game set at Yankee Stadium 10-9 last night. The New York Yankees have won just one of their last nine and lost four straight but I like them to bounce back with a win here today.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Pitching - The Rangers will hand the ball to Nick Martinez (3-0, 1.88 ERA) who conceded just two runs over his first four starts on the year but has run into some trouble of late. Martinez has allowed 13 runs (nine earned) on 24 hits with seven walks over 22 innings in his last four starts as he'll make his third start against the Yankees compiling a 4.91 ERA over the previous two. The Yankees will counter with CC Sabathia (2-5, 4.67 ERA) who's coming off back to back wins and his best start of the season when he held the mighty Royals to just one run on six hits over seven innings with no walks and five strikeouts.

2. Sabathia vs. Rangers - The 34 year old veteran has an 11-3 record over 18 career starts against Texas and the Yankees have won seven straight meetings with Sabathia as a starter.

3. X-Factor - The Yankees Brett Gardner is hitting .289 on the season and has owned Martinez over previous meetings going 4-for-5 with two doubles and a homer.

Selection: This is a play on the New York Yankees (8*)