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Big Al McMordie

Colorado / Arizona

Condition: Arizona

At 9:40pm ET our complimentary selection is on the Arizona Diamondbacks over the Colorado Rockies. The Diamondbacks are probably very glad to be back home in the Arizona desert. After all, the team is returning from the windy city and a very tough three games in which they were swept by the Cubs in what could be a preview of the National League Playoffs. This is certainly not what the D-Backs wanted, but if they were going to lose a series this way, it's no doubt better that it happen now in May. The fact is that Arizona probably has nothing to worry about. They still have one of the best records in baseball, they have probably the best top 2 starters in the National League, and they just got some good news regarding lefthander Doug Davis, who had successful surgery for thyroid cancer and will probably be back in the rotation before the end of the month. Another lefthander, veteran Randy Johnson, will go to the mound for the D-Backs in this one, and although his numbers on the season are anything but impressive, this is probably the ideal spot for him to bounce back and put himself and his team on the right track again. In his only start against the Rockies in '07, Johnson was totally dominating in shutting them out over six innings with nine strikeouts. Colorado is batting a dismal .218 vs. southpaws in '08 and tonight's starter, Jeff Francis, another lefty, has already faced the D-Backs twice this season (once at home and once in Arizona), and he's gotten blasted in both of those outings. Despite his less-than-stellar ERA, Johnson is 2-1 on the season and his team has won each of his last three starts. Take the Diamondbacks. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.

Al McMordie CASHED with Cleveland in Game 1 of its doubleheader Monday, and that was Big Al's 5th Baseball Winner of his last six. Now, Al shoots for his 6th win out of seven, and it's Big Al's American League Game of the Month. If you enjoyed Al's NL Game of the Month 2 weeks ago on LA over Fla., then you'll love this WINNER.

Larry Ness

NY Yankees / Tampa Bay

Condition: NY Yankees

The Yanks have traditionally enjoyed their visits to the Tampa area in the past but things are much different this year. The Yankees had swept a two-game set in Tropicana Field last month, giving them all-time mark of 54-32 against the Rays, in their own home park. However, Tampa won 7-1 last night, for the team's 10th consecutive home win (first three came at Disney World), moving six games over .500 for the first time in club history at 22-16. The Rays have now won 14 of their last games 19 overall, closing with a half-game of the Red Sox in the AL East (Tampa leads the Yankees by 3 1/2 games!). All that said, I'll back the Yanks tonight. Edwin Jackson gets the call for the Rays and I just don't trust this guy. He began his career with the Dodgers and they had high hopes for him but he never fulfilled their hopes. He came to Tampa in '06 going 0-0 with a 5.45 ERA in 23 appearances (just one start). He worked his way into the starting rotation last year but was dreadful, going 5-15 with a 5.76 ERA (allowed 195 hits in 161 innings). Tampa was 8-23 () in his starts, including 4-10 (6.55 ERA) here at home. He's been either VERY good of VERY bad so far in 2008. His overall mark is 2-3 with a 4.04 ERA in seven starts (team is 4-3) but in the four wins he's allowed just two ERs (total) in 29 innings (0.62 ERA), while in the three losses he's allowed 17 ERs in just 13.1 innings (11.48 ERA). He's faced the Yankees twice this year, beating them 6-3 at The Stadium (6 IP / 5 hits / 1 ER) but losing to them 5-3 here in Tampa (5 IP / 4 hits and 4 walks / 5 ERs). Jackson is not the type of pitcher one can rely on. On the other hand, New York's Wang is EXACTLY the type of pitcher you can rely on. He's gone 19-6 and 19-7 the last two seasons, with the Yankees going 44-22 in his starts (including the postseason). He's 6-1 with a 3.12 ERA in eight starts in '08, with the Yanks going 7-1 (plus-$566). Wang has won six of his last seven starts against Tampa Bay (2.03 ERA), including six shutout innings against the Rays in a 2-0 home victory on April 6. Take the Yankees.