The Oakland Athletics came into the opener of a three-game set home at O.co Coliseum on the back of two consecutive losses to the Tigers, but took Game 1 by a score of 5-4. The New York Yankees had swept the Royals over three games prior, and I like them to bounce back tonight.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Pitching - The Bronx Bombers will hand the ball to Chris Capuano (0-2, 7.36 ERA) as he'll make his third start of the season. While he's struggled initially, facing the Athletics might be the cure, a ball-club he's 1-1 with a decent 3.68 ERA against in four games (one start). The A's will counter with Sonny Gray (5-2, 1.77 ERA) who has been dominant on the year but was limited to five innings at Tampa Bay his last start after being tagged on the right ankle by a batted ball. While the injury itself shouldn't be a problem, it's easy to get shell-shocked by such an experience and 25 year old Gray might not come out fully focused. We can also note that he surrendered three runs in six innings of a 7-0 loss to the Yankees on June 13 in his only career meeting so far.

2. Unreliable Favorites - Oakland has been quite costly if you've backed it as a favorite of late, going 3-12 in its last 15 games as a home favorite of -110 to -150 and it is just 1-5 in its last six as a home favorite

3. X-Factor - Brett Gardner is coming into this game seeking to build on last night's 3-for-5 performance, and I like his chances as he's 2-for-3 against Gray in previous match-ups.

Selection: This is a play on the New York Yankees +1.5 (8*)