Two of the best teams in Major League Baseball go head to head on Sunday morning in the league's weekly matchup on Peacock.
The Tampa Bay Rays are still in first place in the AL East, but they have come back to earth after an extremely hot start to the season. Still, they should have an advantage over the Los Angeles Dodgers with two young starters on the mound.
Taj Bradley (3-1, 4.44 ERA) is expected to get the ball against Dodgers rookie Gavin Stone (0-0, 10.13 ERA).
Stone has been knocked around in back-to-back starts, and now he has to face the team that ranks first in MLB in OPS. Let's dive into the odds and best bet for this morning matchup:
Dodgers vs. Rays odds, run line and total
Run Line
- Dodgers: +1.5 (-170)
- Rays -1.5 (+145)
Moneyline
- Dodgers: +115
- Rays -135
Total
- 9 (Over -110/Under -110)
Dodgers vs. Rays prediction and pick
Even though Bradley's numbers don't look great on the surface, he is clearly the better starter here.
In five outings, Bradley has allowed more than three runs just one time, his last outing against the Toronto Blue Jays. Even though it moved his ERA to 4.44, he still has a Fielding Independent Pitching of just 3.25 on the season, showing that he's been better than his earned run average suggests.
Stone, who has made two starts in the Majors, has given up 10 runs (nine earned) in eight innings of work. He's walked seven batters and given up 13 hits over those outings.
That's not going to cut it against this Tampa Bay lineup, and the Dodgers' bullpen isn't a group you want to put your trust in either. Los Angeles ranks 24th in MLB in bullpen ERA this season.
I'll back Tampa Bay to grab a win on Sunday.
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
