The set-up: The Yankees wrapped up a three-game weekend sweep of the Orioles with Sunday's 14-3 win in the Bronx. New York hit 12 HRs during sweep and at 37-23, the Yanks now own a four-game lead over the second place Red Sox in the AL Est (Orioles have fallen 6 1/2 back, after getting outscored 38-8 in three straight losses). The Yankees begin a seven-game California trip Monday with the opener of a three-game series against the LA Angels. Los Angeles is beginning a seven-game homestand after completing a 4-2 road trip with a 12-6 victory at Houston on Sunday. The 33-33 Angels are in second place in the AL West but sit 12 games back of the 44-20 Astros, who still own MLB's best record.

The pitching matchup: Masahiro Tanaka (5-6 & 6.55 ERA) will get the ball for New York and Alex Meyer (2-3 & 4.08 ERA) for LA. Tanaka has 'run into a brick wall' as of late, as after winning five in a row from April 14 through May 8, he's allowed five or more runs on four occasions while losing five straight starts (10.72 ERA in his skid!). Tanaka has only faced the Angels three times in his career, going 1-0 with a 1.71 ERA (Yanks are 3-0). Meyer is coming off back-to-back outings in which he gave up one run over six innings but failed to record a victory, going 0-1 for his efforts (team is 0-2). That's despite his 1.50 ERA and 13-1 KW ratio in those two starts. In fact, he has allowed more than three ERs only once in seven starts this season but has also worked more than six innings only one time. Meyer never has faced the Yankees.

The pick: Tanaka's struggles are real but he takes the mound in front of a team leading the majors in scoring (5.88 RPG), OPS (.827) and HRs (102), while ranking second in BA (.275). That's a lineup that should handle Meyer, who owns just 13 big league starts since 2015. Make the Yankees a 10* play.