It is an AL East battle as the Toronto Blue Jays face the New York Yankees. It is time to continue our MLB odds series with a Blue Jays-Yankees prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.

The Blue Jays enter the game after sweeping the Red Sox over the weekend. It was three lower-scoring games, with just 15 combined runs in the three games, but the Jays came out on top. With the three wins, the Blue Jays are currently the second Wild Card team in the American LEague. They have a one-game lead on the Rangers and Mariners, who are tied for that final spot currently.

The Yankees come in after winning two of three over the Pirates over the weekend. They still have slim playoff chances. At 76-74 on the season, the Yankees are six games out in the Wild Card chase. With just 12 games left to play, the Yankees will need to go on a run. The Yankees are just six games away from elimination. To make the playoffs, they would need to essentially win out while seeing the Rangers and Mariners each lose seven games.

Here are the Blue Jays-Yankees MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

MLB Odds: Blue Jays-Yankees Odds

Toronto Blue Jays: -1.5 (+150)

New York Yankees: +1.5 (-182)

Over: 8.5 (-106)

Under: 8.5 (-114)

How To Watch Blue Jays vs. Yankees

TV: Sportsnet/YES

Stream: MLB.TV

Time:7:05 PM  ET/ 4:05 PM PT

*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why The Blue Jays Could Cover The Spread

The Blue Jays got solid pitching over the weekend, a far cry from their series with the Rangers. On the year, the Jays are second in the majors in team ERA, while sitting seventh in both WHIP and opponent batting average. They will send Yusei Kikuchi to the mound today. He is 9-6 on the year with a 3.81 ERA. He has not had a good month so far. This month, Kikuchi has pitched 14.2 innings, giving up 13 runs with 9 earned. That gives him a 5.52 ERA. In two of the stats, he gave up six runs, although one of those saw four unearned runs. In the other start, he gave up just one run, but that was against the Royals.

Meanwhile, the Blue Jays are 16th in runs scored this year, while sitting tenth in batting average, sixth in on-base percentage, and 13th in slugging. The hot bat in the lineup belongs to Valdimir Guerrero Jr. He is hitting .318 in the last week with a .400 on-base percentage. He has three home runs in that time with four runs scored. This also has led to six RBIs in the last week. Meanwhile, Cavin Biggo is also hitting well. He is hitting .318 in the last week with a double. He has just one RBI in the last week but has scored four times.

For all the good, there are some struggles. George Springer is hitting just .083 in the last week, while Bo Bichette is hitting .130. Whit Merrifield is hitting only .154. As a whole, the Blue Jays are hitting just .178 as a team. They have hit five home runs, with three of them coming from Guerrero. They have also scored just 15 runs in the last week. It is on an expected 13.3 runs, but that shows how rough it has been as of late for the Blue Jays at the plate.

Why The Yankees Could Cover The Spread

The Yankees are going to need to counter with their solid pitching performance today. On the year the Yankees are eighth in team ERA while sitting sixth in WHIP and third in opponent batting average. They sent Clarke Schmidt to the mound today. He is 9-8 on the year with a 4.56 ERA. Schmidt has been consistent in his last four starts. In each of them, he has given up three runs, although in one of the games, only one was earned. He has also given up five or more hits in each of the games. In three of the four games, he has struck out five or more batters.

At the plate, the Yankees are 23rd in runs scored this year while sitting 29th in batting average, 26th in on-base percentage, and 21st in slugging. Aaron Judge has continued to provide RBIs in the last week. While he is hitting just .167, he has a .375 on-base percentage. Judge has a home run and three runs scored while driving in five runs. DJ LeMahieu joins him with five RBIs in the last week. He is doing it while hitting .364 and having a .391 on-base percentage. LeMahieu has his three foubles and scored four times in the last week.

Anthony Volpe has been scoring well in the last week too. He is hitting just .200 with a .259 on-base percentage. Still, he has hit two doubles, and a home run helping lead him to two RBIS. He has also stolen two bases and scored four times. The Yankees have been stealing bases well. Five different players have stolen a base, and Everson Pereira joins Volpe in stealing two of them in the past week.

The Yankees are hitting .233 in the last week with a .341 on-base percentage. They have scored 30 times in the last week. The Yankees are still leaving runs on the table though. They have an expected total of 31.7 runs in the last week.

Final Blue Jays-Yankees Prediction & Pick

Clarke Schmidt gives the Yankees a slight pitching edge today. While both pitchers have similar numbers on the year, and Kikuchi has had more dominating performances, it is Schmidt who has been the better pitcher recently. Moreover, the Blue Jays are struggling heavily at the plate. Most of the run production has come from one player. The Yankees are not hitting wonderfully, but they have more guys producing in the last week. Both teams bring power in their lineup to the game today. That should play a role in today's game. With the Yankees trying to make a magical run to get back into the playoff race, they need a huge win today. They get it and cover on the Blue Jays.

Final Blue Jays-Yankees Prediction & Pick: Yankees +1.5 (-182)