It is an AL East showdown as the Baltimore Orioles host the New York Yankees. It is now time to continue our MLB odds series with a Yankees-Orioles prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.

The Yankees come in off a two-game series split with the New York Mets. Carlos Rondon got his first win in the game. They have won four of their last five games and sit at 54-48 on the year. The Yankees are sitting eight games back of the Orioles in the AL East and are in last place in the division. Still, they are just 2.5 games back of the Blue Jays for the last wild-card spot. In between them and the Blue Jays are another AL East foe, the Boston Red Sox.

The Orioles lost two of three to the Phillies earlier this week. They have won just five of their last ten, but three of those wins came against the Rays. The Orioles are still 1.5 games above the Rays in the AL East and sit at 62-40 on the season. That gives them the best record in the American League and the second-best record in all of baseball.

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

MLB Odds: Yankees-Orioles Odds

New York Yankees: -1.5 (+132)

Baltimore Orioles: +1.5 (-160)

Over: 8.5 (-112)

Under: 8.5 (-108)

How To Watch Yankees vs. Orioles

TV: YES/MASN

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 Yankees Could Cover The Spread

The Yankees need to figure out how to score some runs. They are 21st on the season in runs scored, while sitting 26th in on-base percentage, 18th in slugging percentage, and 29th in batting average. Aaron Judge is expected to be back in the lineup on Friday, which would be a huge boost for the offense. Judge still leads the team in home runs on the year with 19, which is tied for 26th in home runs. Judge has not played since June 3rd but did hit well in May. In May, he hit 12 home runs and drove in 25 runs that month. He also hit .342 that month.

The Yankees would also like to keep having Anthony Volpe hitting hot. In the last week, he has hit .364 with two RBIs, two stolen bases, and scored three times. Still, he has struggled this month. He has hit just .211 this month. Volpe hit three home runs and drove in eight runs this month. He has also stolen two bases and scored 14 runs this month. Still, he has struggled with strikeouts on the month. He has struck out 20 times this month but has only struck out twice in the last week.

Gleyber Torres also is hitting well this month. He has a 15-game hitting streak going and is hitting .318. He has 11 RBIs this month with the help of four home runs, a triple, and two doubles. Torres also scored 13 times this month. Giancarlo Stanton is also driving in runs. He has hit 15 RBIs this month with the help of six home runs. Still, he is hitting just .209 on the month, but Stanton has a .309 on-base percentage this month.

The Yankees will be sending Gerrit Cole to the mound today. He is 9-2 on the season with a 2.78 ERA. Cole has been pitching well since coming out of the All-Star break. He has pitched 12.1 innings with three runs given up. That gives him a 2.19 ERA in the last two games, while also striking out 21 batters. If Cole keeps this up, the Yankees will have a great chance to win.

Why The Orioles Could Cover The Spread

For an offense that has scored well all year, it struggled against the Phillies. The Orioles scored just ten runs in three games, well below their average of 4.88 runs per game. On the season, the Orioles are ninth in the majors in runs scored, 16th in batting average, 16th in on-base percentage, and 9th in slugging. Gunnar Henderson has been driving in a lot of runs this month. While he is hitting just .244 on the month, he has a .330 on-base percentage. Henderson has hit five home runs this month, with two triples and a double. He had 13 RBIs this month and has scored 16 times as well. This continued great work has made Henderson the favorite for AL Rookie of the Year.

Adley Rutschman hit another home run on Wednesday. This month he has three home runs and 11 RBIs. He is hitting .269 on the month with an OBP of .337. Rutschman also hit six doubles, which has helped him score 12 runs this month. Joining Rutschman in scoring a lot of runs is Anthony Santander. Not only does he lead the team in RBIs and home runs, but he has also scored 11 times this month. He is hitting .238 on the month, with a .351 on-base percentage. Santander has driven in eight runs this month, with three home runs and six doubles. Still, he has been struggling with strikeouts. In the last eight games, he has struck out 13 times, with at least one strikeout in each game. Santander has just two hits in his last six games, currently in a 2-25 slump.

While Ryan O'Hearn went 0-1 in his last game, he is having a solid month. This month, O'Hearn is hitting .328 with 11 RBIs. He has done that with the help of three home runs. He also has four doubles and seven runs scored in that time frame, with an OBP of .379. Ryan Mountcastle has also been hitting well. He is hitting .333 on the month with a .394 on-base percentage. Still, he has just one home and three RBIs this month with six runs scored.

The Orioles will be sending Grayson Rodriguez to the mound in this one. He is 2-2 on the season with a 6.91 ERA. Since coming back from the minors he has gone 10.2 innings and given up six runs. That gives him a 5.06 ERA in his last two starts. The last time out was better, giving up two runs in 5.2 innings in a victory over the Rays.

Final Yankees-Orioles Prediction & Pick

The Orioles' offense has struggled as of late, and it does not help to go against Gerrit Cole. To make matters worse, the Orioles are sending out Grayson Rodriguez. This should be a good return to the lineup for Aaron Judge against him. Before going to the minors, Rodriguez was giving up a lot of home runs. That will be back in this game in a Yankees win.

Final Yankees-Orioles Prediction & Pick: Yankees -1.5 (+132)