In the late slate of tonight’s MLB action, the Baltimore Orioles will take on the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers opened up the series with a 6-5 win yesterday. For the second matchup of the three-game set, Trevor Rogers and Yoshinobu Yamamoto will take the ball for their respective squads.

The Dodgers enter tonight’s matchup with -111 odds on the 1.5-run line and -238 odds of winning outright on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Orioles sit as +193 underdogs, with the total set at O/U 8 runs.

Orioles vs. Dodgers prediction, preview

The Baltimore Orioles hold a 35-42 record on the season, which slots them at fourth place in the AL East. They dropped the opening matchup against the Dodgers and enter having lost five of their past six games played. On the season overall, the Orioles have gone 37-40 to the run line, and the game total is 44-30-3 to the over/under.

Trevor Rogers will be making his 14th start of the season for Baltimore. The left-handed pitcher enters with a 5.86 ERA, a 1.455 WHIP, and has tallied 48 strikeouts and 74 hits allowed across his first 66 innings pitched. Rogers has faced the Dodgers in 39 at-bats in his career. Los Angeles is slashing .308/.357/.462 with a .819 OPS against him.

Baltimore is slashing a collective .240/.320/.399 with a .719 OPS. Across MLB, the team ranks 18th in hits, 10th in runs, 14th in home runs, and has tallied the fourth-most strikeouts. Pete Alonso leads the team with 17 home runs and 49 RBI on the season. Gunnar Henderson is not far behind with 16 home runs and 38 RBI of his own, while Samuel Basallo is the lone other player with double-digit home runs. Taylor Ward and Adley Rutschman also play vital roles on the Orioles team.

Looking to defend their back-to-back World Series titles, the Los Angeles Dodgers are off to a 49-27 start to the season, which has taken the lead for the best record in baseball. They enter this matchup on a four-game winning streak, with a sweep over the Tampa Bay Rays occurring in the previous series. On the season, the Dodgers have gone 37-39 against the run line, and the game total is 35-41 to the over/under.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto will get the start for the Dodgers today. The reigning World Series MVP has made 13 starts this season and enters with a 7-4 record, a 2.52 ERA, a 0.840 WHIP, 80 strikeouts, and 57 hits allowed across his first 85.2 innings pitched. He has faced the Orioles for 30 at-bats in his career, and limited them to slash lines of .133/.257/.233 with a .490 OPS.

The Dodgers are slashing a collective .262/.346/.441 slash lines with a .787 OPS. Los Angeles ranks third in MLB in hits, second in runs, third in home runs, and has tallied the eighth-fewest strikeouts. Max Muncy has tallied a team-high 16 home runs along with 30 RBI, while Andy Pages and Shohei Ohtani each have 15 home runs of their own along with a combined 99 RBI. Freddie Freeman is the lone other player to crack double-digit long balls, with 12 home runs and 40 RBI of his own.

Orioles vs. Dodgers pick, best bet

The biggest concern for this matchup is which version of Trevor Rogers takes the mound. The 28-year-old had a breakout season last year in which he posted a 5.3 WAR, a 1.81 ERA, 0.903 WHIP, and struck out 103 hitters across 109.2 innings pitched. But Rogers has taken a major step back this season, with his -0.5 WAR and 5.86 ERA. He has not escaped a start without allowing an earned run since his debut this season. He has also especially struggled on the road. Across the 20.1 innings that Rogers has thrown during away games, he is posting a 6.64 ERA and allowing a .291 batting average to opponents.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto has been strong all season, and especially of late. Across his past 22.2 innings, he has allowed just seven total hits and two earned runs. He has shined at home this season with a 2.84 ERA and a .190 batting average allowed. The reigning World Series MVP has done well in matches with this Orioles roster, allowing just four hits and one extra base hit across the 30 opportunities.

The Orioles have a respectable offensive approach, with some serious threats in their lineup. But it will take some serious damage to put themselves in a more favorable position for this matchup. Rogers has not reliably proven to be able to pitch deep into games and has been hit around at a high rate. The Dodgers will be the most impressive lineup he has faced this season, which is a concern as he has struggled in much weaker matchups.

Expect the Dodgers to put runs on the board at the rate the Orioles cannot match, and for this game to have a chance to get out of control early. Yamamoto has continued to make his case for why he deserves to be mentioned among the best pitchers in baseball, while Rogers is working through some serious adjustments with his approach and ability. The Orioles’ bullpen is also posting a collective 4.56 ERA, which is the 10th-highest in baseball, compared to a 3.75 ERA from the Dodgers, so the matchup does not get much better deep into the game. Count on pitching to be the biggest storyline and for the Dodgers to cruise to a comfortable victory in this matchup to extend their win streak to five.

Best bet: Los Angeles Dodgers -1.5 (-111)

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