Something had to give in yesterday when the Texas Rangers came into the opener of a three-game set at Progressive Field on the back of five consecutive wins and the Cleveland Indians winners of six straight. The Rangers took Game 1, but I like the home team to respond with a win in Game 2.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Pitching - The Tribe will hand the ball to Danny Salazar (5-1, 3.50) as he's coming off a terrific display when he shut out the White Sox in Chicago over six innings. He recorded eight strikeouts in that game and has a 60-9 SO/W ratio over 43 2/3 innings on the season. He gave up seven runs (five earned) on nine hits over 4 2/3 innings against at Texas on May 16, but Cleveland still walked off the field a 10-8 winner and I expect plenty of run-support for Salazar tonight as well. The Rangers will counter with Wandy Rodriguez (2-2, 3.38 ERA) who held the Red Sox to just one run over 6 2/3 innings his last start, but conceded five runs on eight hits over just 4 2/3 innings in a home-start against Cleveland the game prior. There are plenty of Indians batters with good numbers against the veteran southpaw, and Michael Brantley is 2-for-2 with a double and a walk in previous meetings.

2. Home Cookin - The Rangers win last night ended a six game losing streak at Cleveland and the Tribe are 6-0 in Salazar's last six home starts versus a team with a losing record.

3. X-Factor - We can expect Cleveland to rally late in the game since Rodriguez has gone past the sixth inning in only two of his six starts this season. The Texas bullpen ranks among the worst in baseball with a 4.39 ERA on the season.

Selection: This is a play on the Cleveland Indians (8*)