The Minnesota Twins and the New York Yankees will begin a four-game series on Thursday night. It's time to continue our MLB odds series and make a Twins-Yankees prediction and pick.

The Yankees come into this series after pulling off the most important sweep of their season. New York managed to take three straight games from the Boston Red Sox, pushing themselves into the wild card game. There's still plenty of season left, but New York is now maintaining that wild card lead and maybe even pushing for the AL East, so every game is huge. The Twins also come into this game on a bit of a hot streak, having won six of their last eight games. This should be another entertaining matchup for both teams, so let's get into the pick.

Here's how the bookmakers have set the lines for Thursday's game.

MLB Odds: Twins-Yankees Odds

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

Minnesota Twins +1 1/2 (+119)

New York Yankees -1 1/2 (-139)

Over 10 1/2 runs (+100)

Under 10 1/2 runs (-120)

Why The Twins Could Cover The Spread

Minnesota is a sneakily good offense. They come into this game ranking just outside the top ten in the MLB in batting average and OBP while ranking inside the top ten in OPS and slugging percentage. The Twins' record leads to them being underestimated at the plate, but Minnesota is a pretty solid offense. Helping their case in this game is the fact that they're actually slightly better offensively when they play on the road. The Twins see a rise in all of their major batting stats whenever they play away from Target Field.

The Yankees are also worse offensively at home. That's perfect for the Twins, who will need every advantage they can get in this bullpen game. New York sees their batting average and slugging percentage fall in Yankee Stadium as opposed to anywhere else, so there's some hope for a half-decent outing from the Minnesota bullpen.

Why The Yankees Could Cover The Spread

The Yankees have been on an offensive tear lately, scoring more than four runs in seven of their last ten games. New York should continue their hot streak against Minnesota starter John Gant. Gant started the season as a starter, then moved to the bullpen, and is now back in the rotation. He hasn't pitched more than two innings since mid-June, so it's fair to expect him to have to shake off some rust throughout this start. Expect a heavy workload for a Minnesota bullpen that has been far worse than expectations this season.

The Twins currently have two relievers who own an ERA below 4.00. Asking this group to pitch five innings of good baseball against an offensive powerhouse like the Yankees is the same as asking them to move mountains. New York should shell these bullpen arms with ease throughout the entire outing.

Luckily for the Yankees, they don't have the same pitching problems as the Twins. The Bronx Bombers will send out pitcher Jameson Taillon for the start in this one, something that has typically worked out well. Taillon wasn't pitching his best baseball at the start of the season, but he certainly is now. Over his last seven outings, Taillon has put up a 1.74 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. Those are truly elite numbers, and it's hard to see his hot streak ending here.

Final Twins-Yankees Prediction & Pick

It's nearly impossible to trust the Minnesota pitching situation in this game, especially when New York has been so good offensively recently. The Yankees are an obvious pick here even with the spread in play, as it's fair to expect an elite outing from both the lineup and Taillon. Take the Yankees and don't look back.

FINAL PICK: New York Yankees -1 1/2 (-139)