Blue Jays vs. Yankees prediction and odds for Friday, April 21 (Trust Yusei Kikuchi)

A pivotal series in the American League East is set to take place over the weekend, with Game 1 scheduled for Friday night.

The Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees are battling against each other in the midst of an ultra-competitive division where not a single team is below .500.

Yusei Kikuchi will take the mound for the Blue Jays and he'll face-off against Domingo German of the Yankees.

Let's dive into the odds for the game and then I'll give you my best bet.

Blue Jays vs. Yankees odds, run line, and total

Blue Jays vs. Yankees prediction and pick

I may live to regret saying this, but I believe in Yusei Kikuchi. He has been a roller-coaster ride this season. After having the best ERA amongst starting pitchers in MLB in Spring Training, he has been lights out in two of his first three starts but gave up six earned runs to the Angels.

The main reason why I'm going to back Kikuchi is the Yankees have been terrible against lefties this season. Their OPS drops from .748 against righties to .647 against lefties, which is the 8th lowest mark against left-handed pitchers in Major League Baseball.

Heading into tonight, the Yankees have the best bullpen ERA in MLB. While that's impressive, it doesn't concern me. I have faith that we're going to see regression from the Yankees bullpen, which is not nearly talented enough to be the top ranked unit in the Majors.

I love the Jays as underdogs tonight.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.