Yankees vs. Blue Jays prediction and odds for Thursday, May 18

The New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays will wrap up their four game series on Thursday night.

Two underperforming pitchers will take the bump to get things started off with Nestor Cortes (5.53 ERA) taking the mound to face-off against Jose Berrios (4.70 ERA) of the Jays,

Every game between AL East opponents is absolutely critical but instead of betting on a side in this one, I like a play on the total instead.

Let's jump into it.

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

Yankees vs. Blue Jays prediction and pick

While both pitchers are largely underperforming this season, I think we could see a strong performance from both in this AL East series finale.

Nestor Cortez may have a 5.53 ERA, but his 4.60 FIP shows we may see some positive regression come from in the coming weeks. Especially on Thursday against the Blue Jays, who have struggled against left-handed pitchers all season.

The Blue jays have an OPS of .682 against lefties in the month of May, which is the sixth lowest mark in Major League Baseball.

Meanwhile, Jose Berrios' FIP is also much better than his ERA, 3.59 compared to 4.70. He has also been much better at home this season. He has a road ERA of 6.67, but a stellar ERA at home of 1.53.

It's going to be tough to do, but betting against the Yankees' hot bats and wagering on a pitchers duel is the move to make in Toronto on Thursday.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.