Tampa Bay Rays vs Los Angeles Dodgers Prediction & Picks - MLB

Prediction published on 8/2/25, 10:58 AM  by Carlos Zabala | Modified on 8/2/25 at 3:25 PM in MLB Picks

The Rays-Dodgers series continues on Saturday. Tampa Bay is still struggling to break out of its slump; they lost Game 1 0-5 and need to get going if they want to clinch the final wild-card spot. That hasn't happened yet; they lost 5-0 in Friday's game against the Dodgers, where Kershaw pitched six scoreless innings and struck out 13 without issuing a walk. It's a season-ending loss.

Hitting-wise, the Rays' leadoff hitters combined went 2-for-16. For the Dodgers, in Friday's game, Betts went 0-for-4; Ohtani went 2-for-4, as did Freeman, who went 2-for-4, but with three RBIs and an RBI double. Freeman only hit one home run in the entire month of July, but with a high AVG of .359.

Bookmakers are hesitant to set the Dodgers as heavy favorites in Game 2, and they will only be so at -120 odds. This is logical, since Blake Snell will be pitching for the Dodgers on Saturday, another pitcher who, like Glasnow, Kershaw, and Ohtani, has been out with a long-term injury and is returning for just his first appearance since April 2 against his former team, the Rays.