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It’s a little rare when two teams don’t play on July 4 but neither the New York Yankees nor Pittsburgh Pirates did on the holiday, so both will have their full bullpens available when they open an interleague series in Pittsburgh on Tuesday. Here is the preview for your MLB Odds.

How to Bet Yankees at Pirates MLB Odds & TV Info

When: Tuesday, 7:05 PM ET
Where: PNC Park
Probable pitchers (away/home): Jameson Taillon/Jose Quintana
TV: MLB Extra Innings
Stream/gameday audio: https://www.mlb.com/live-stream-games/
Opening MLB Lines: Yankees -220, Pirates +200 (total 8.5)

Why Bet on NY Yankees?

The Yankees had a chance to sweep a series in Cleveland on Sunday but lost 2-0 – rare to see that high-powered offense shut out. Struggling Aaron Hicks went 0-for-4 in Sunday’s loss. It was the sixth time in his last eight starts that he’s gone 0-for. After it looked like things were picking up for him in mid-June, he’s gone 3-for-24 since hitting a big three-run homer on June 23.

Perhaps we shouldn’t have been too shocked that New York struggled Sunday at the plate because superstar and AL MVP favorite Aaron Judge sat out simply for rest. He’ll be back in there Tuesday. The 30-year-old outfielder is having an incredible season so far, hitting .282/.360/.629 with 29 homers, 59 RBI, and six steals across 338 plate appearances.

Yankees batters lead the Majors with 133 homers this season. The 133 dingers are their most HR through their first 79 games of a season in franchise history. New York has hit at least 4HR in 13 games this season. No other team has more than six such games. The Yankees are 49-6 when they score at least 3 runs this season.

The Yankees have lost just three series this season, with one of those series being a one-game series. They have won or split 23 of their 26 series this year, winning 20 of those series and splitting three. The Yanks have swept nine of their last 21 series. Those nine series sweeps this year are three shy of their 2021 total (12).

It’s former Pirates right-hander Jameson Taillon on the mound Tuesday. New York acquired him from Pittsburgh in January 2021 in exchange for prospects in pitchers Miguel Yajure and Roansy Contreras, infielder Maikol Escotto and outfielder Canaan Smith. Taillon was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2010 MLB Draft.

Taillon (9-1, 3.32) labored through five innings but picked up a win last Wednesday in the Yankees’ 5-3 victory over the Athletics. Taillon walked two and hit a batter with a pitch, which qualifies as wild for him this season. He also gave up seven hits and finished June having allowed 40 base knocks over 33 1/3 innings while posting a 4.59 ERA. In spite of that, he went 4-0.

Taillon has just about everything going for him this year except big strikeout totals. He’s in the top 25% of the league in hard hit percentage, barrel percentage, chase rate and walk rate. The only other knock is that he’s only pitched six or more innings three times this year.

Why Bet on Pittsburgh?

Pittsburgh comes off a 2-0 home loss to the Brewers on Sunday but did split the four-game home series. Daniel Vogelbach went 3-for-4 on Sunday in the loss. Vogelbach was responsible for one third of the Pirates’ hits. The 29-year-old slugger is hitting .235/.336/.435 with 25 runs scored, 10 homers and 26 RBI across 232 plate appearances this season.

Before the game, the team placed reliever Yerry De Los Santos on the COVID-19 injured list. It’s unclear if he tested positive. The 24-year-old right-hander has posted a strong 2.84 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, and 13 strikeouts across 12 2/3 innings. Outfielder Ben Gamel (hamstring) is expected to be activated from the injured list ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Yankees. The 30-year-old has been out with a strained left hamstring since late May. He’s hitting .257/.350/.386 with three homers and three steals across 160 plate appearances.

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington also said he expects first baseman Yoshi Tsutsugo to return from the 10-day injured list Tuesday. Tsutsugo appears to be fully recovered from the lumbar muscle strain that resulted in his placement on the IL on May 26. He started a rehab assignment at Triple-A Indianapolis on June 21 and has appeared in nine games for the affiliate, slashing .400/.556/.760 with two home runs and a 9:3 BB:K mark over 36 plate appearances.

Since being recalled from Indianapolis on June 20, shortstop Oneil Cruz leads all rookies in Major League Baseball with 12 RBI. Cruz also ranks fourth among all rookies in MLB in total bases (24) since June 20, trailing only Seattle’s Julio Rodriguez (33), St. Louis’ Juan Yepez (29) and Chicago’s Christopher Morel (28).

It’s Jose Quintana (1-4, 3.43 ERA) on the mound Tuesday. The 33-year-old left-hander will be making his 16th start of the season. He allowed one run in 6.0 innings but had a no-decision in his last start, a 3-1 loss against Washington. Quintana has a 3.15 ERA (45.2ip/16er) in nine starts at PNC Park and has recorded a 3.12 ERA (17.1ip/6er) in his last three starts after allowing four runs apiece in his previous two outings.

Quintana 2-2 with a 3.18 ERA (28.1ip/10er) in six career appearances (five starts) vs. the Yankees. He made his last appearance against them in relief last year as a member of the Angels.