Fresh off a doubleheader, the New York Yankees face the Pittsburgh Pirates. It is time to continue our MLB odds series with a Yankees-Pirates prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.

The Yankees come in as winners after taking three of four from Boston, including a split in yesterday's doubleheader. There were both solid performances at the plate and on the mound in the series. In the first two games of the series, the Yankees bitching held the Red Sox to just three total runs. Meanwhile, they gave up ten runs in the two games of the doubleheader yesterday. The plate performance was in the second inning of the second game yesterday. DJ LeMahieu reached on an infield single that loaded the bases and scored a run. Then Aaron Judge launched a grand slam to center field to give the Yankees a 5-2 lead. LeMahieu would add another RBI and in the ninth Oswald Peraza would hit a two-run home run to put the game away. Now the Yankees are 74-73 on the season. It places them 16.5 games out in the division, and 7.5 games out of the last Wild Card spot.

Meanwhile, the Pirates just took three of four from the Nationals. Yesterday it was a 2-0 win over the Nationals in which Mitch Keller pitched great. He went eight innings giving up just two hits and a walk without giving up a run in the win. The Pirates are now 69-78 on the year, and while they are not nearing elimination, they are also well out of the playoff chase. The Pirates are 6.5 games behind the Giants, Reds, and Diamondbacks for the last Wild Card spot.

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

MLB Odds: Yankees-Pirates Odds

New York Yankees: -1.5 (-105)

Pittsburgh Pirates: +1.5 (-114)

Over: 7.5 (-122)

Under: 7.5 (+100)

How To Watch Yankees vs. Pirates

TV: YES/ATT

Stream: MLB.TV

Time: 6:40 PM ET/ 3:40 PM PT

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

Why The Yankees Could Cover The Spread

The Yankees offense has been hit or miss all year. On the season they are tied for 23-rd in runs scored, while sitting 29th in batting average, 26th in on-base percentage, and 21st in slugging. Aaron Judge was the hero last night, but he has been struggling some as of late. In the last week, he is hitting just .130 with eight strikeouts. He has walked nine times though, giving him a .375 on-base percentage. Still, Judge has just the one home run and four RBIs off of it in the last week. Meanwhile, Oswald Peraza may have the hotted bat in the lineup. He is hitting .333 in the last week with two doubles and a home run. That had led to him driving in three runs and scoring twice.

Oswaldo Cabrera is getting on base a lot as of late. In the last week, he is hitting .235 but has reached base at a .381 rate. He also has two doubles. Still, he has scored just twice and driven in just one run. As a whole, the Yankees have hit just .175 in the last week with a .280 on-base percentage. They have hit four home runs and scored 23 times. This is above their expected 20.2, but with the expected run at under three a game, the Yankees need to find some production in their offense.

The Yankees will send Gerrit Cole to the mound today. He is 13-4 on the season with a 2.79 ERA. That ERA is good for third in the majors among qualified pitchers. Cole has made two starts so far in September and has been dominant. Cole has pitched 13 innings so far this month and given up just one run. That is good for a 0.69 ERA. Meanwhile, he has struck out 16 batters, while giving up just 11 hits.

Why The Pirates Could Cover The Spread

On the year, the Pirates are tied for 23rd in runs scored, while sitting 27th in batting average, 22nd in on-base percentage, and 25th in slugging. Bryan Reynolds and Jack Suwinkski have been the big bats as of late for the Pirates. Reynolds is hitting .393 in the last week with a .433 on-base percentage. He has hit two doubles and two home runs leading to seven RBIs. Reynolds has also stolen a base and scored four times. Meanwhile, Suwinski is hitting .393 in the last week with a .520 on-base percentage. He has two home runs and six RBIs in the last week with two more doubles. Suwinski has also stolen three bases and scored four times.

Joining those two in hitting well is Miguel Andujar. He is hitting .385 in the last week with a .429 on-base percentage. He has two doubles and two RBIs in the last week. Meanwhile, Andujar has stolen a base and scored three times. Overall, the Pirates are hitting .262 as a team in the last week with a .313 on-base percentage. They have stolen ten bases and scored 28 times. Still, they need to take advantage of their scoring opportunities. They have an expected run score value in the last week of 32.1 runs.

The Pirates sent Johan Oviedo to the mound today. He is 8-14 on the season with a 4.34 ERA. He has struggled in his two starts this month. Oveido has pitched just 7.1 innings giving up eight runs with six of them earned. That is good for a 7.36 ERA. His pitch count has also been high in both games. In each game, he has over 90 pitches in under four innings of work. This is a far cry from his last start of August, where he went nine innings allowing just two hits in a shutout victory.

Final Yankees-Pirates Prediction & Pick

The Yankees have a huge pitching advantage in this match-up. Not only is Gerrit Cole going, but it is Cole going while he is on a hot streak. Johan Oviedo has been awful as of late too. While the Yankees are not hitting well, they have the power to take over a game quickly against a bad pitcher. That power will be shown tonight. Take the Yankees to win and cover in this one.

Final Yankees-Pirates Prediction & Pick: Yankees -1.5 (-105)