It may be too early in the MLB season to call a weekend series a possible World Series preview. But with the way the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays have been playing, that is exactly what their series over the weekend will be. Here, we provide our MLB picks for this huge Dodgers vs Rays matchup on Friday night.

Dodgers vs Rays Betting Pick

This game will be played at Tropicana Field at 6:40 PM ET on Friday, May 26, 2023.

Why Bet on the Dodgers:

It is a bullpen day for the Rays in this contest, which could be a huge problem against a team with as potent a lineup as the Dodgers. Tampa has the sixth-highest bullpen ERA in baseball at 4.56, and the Dodgers should get to their bullpen early and often here.

Noah Syndergaard has not been great this season, but he has been serviceable over his last few outings. He has allowed three or fewer runs in four straight starts, and will do enough to let the Dodgers offense shine.

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers come into this Friday night matchup with the Tampa Bay Rays off of a loss to the Atlanta Braves in their last game. But the Dodgers won two out of three in Atlanta in that series, an impressive performance in what could be a preview of this season’s NLCS. Now, the Dodgers take on another team they could potentially meet in October in Tampa.

Noah Syndergaard is on the mound for the Dodgers in this game, which has been a mixed bag to say the least for Los Angeles. It may be up to the offense of the Dodgers to pick Syndergaard up if the veteran pitcher struggles against a Rays team that is second in baseball in runs scored on the season.

Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays enter Friday’s series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers on a two-game winning streak. Their most recent game was a win over the Toronto Blue Jays, which helped the Rays secure a 3-1 series win over their AL East rivals. Now, the Rays will look to make a statement against the Los Angeles Dodgers in a huge interleague matchup starting on Friday.

For the Rays, the performance of their bullpen will be the determining factor in how this game goes. Their bullpen ranks in the bottom-10 in Major League Baseball in bullpen ERA, FIP, xFIP, and WAR, and they are starting a reliever in this matchup. That could be a huge problem against a Dodgers team that ranks third in baseball in runs scored.

The post Dodgers vs Rays 5/26/23 Prediction: Pitching to Decide Possible World Series Preview appeared first on ATS Sports Betting Picks - Against The Spread Predictions.