Tampa Bay Rays vs Miami Marlins Picks and Predictions for Friday, June 5, 2026

By: Cameron Ross Published 06/05/2026, 12:45 AM ET

Rays vs Marlins Game Information

The Tampa Bay Rays return to the road Friday night for game 1 of 3 in Miami against the Miami Marlins at 7:10 PM. Tampa Bay has 36 wins and 23 losses this season, having lost 4 of the last 5, including 3 straight after being swept by the Detroit Tigers. The Miami Marlins return home Friday, 5 games below .500 on a 3-game winning streak after sweeping the Washington Nationals. Stay in the action with our MLB Picks.

Rays Preview

Offensively, Tampa Bay has been strong enough this season, with a .256 batting average, and the Rays have scored 273 runs with 580 hits. Tampa Bay has a .333 OBP and a .386 team slugging percentage. Tampa Bay's pitching has been solid enough this season, with a 4.02 team ERA, but it has allowed 39 total runs across its last 4 losses. Yandy Diaz leads the Tampa Bay offense this season with a .313 batting average. Junior Caminero has a .278 batting average and a team-leading 14 home runs. Jonathan Aranda has a .275 batting average to go along with the team-high 43 RBIs this season.

Marlins Preview

The Miami Marlins offense has been mediocre this season, with a .244 batting average. The Marlins have scored 268 runs on 509 hits. Miami has a .321 OBP and a .382 team slugging percentage. Miami's pitching has been average this season, with a 4.28 team ERA, but Miami has allowed only 7 total runs across its current 3-game winning streak. Otto Lopez leads the Miami offense this season with a .332 batting average. Liam Hicks has a .268 batting average and leads the team with 12 home runs and 46 RBI's this year.

Rays vs Marlins Pitching Matchup

Drew Rasmussen will be on the mound Friday night for Tampa Bay, looking to continue to roll this season. Rasmussen is 4-2 with a 3.36 ERA over 59 innings. Ryan Gusto will counter for Miami, looking to improve on his performance thus far this season. Gusto is 0-0 on the year with a 9.00 ERA over only 3 innings.

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Rays vs Marlins Pick

The Tampa Bay Rays are the better team in this matchup, and it will show from the opening pitches on Friday. Despite Miami's current winning streak, look for Tampa Bay to use its edge on both sides of the dish in this matchup. Take the Rays to end their recent skid as they do the job in Miami against the Marlins. Tampa Bay will open this 3-game series Friday night with a win against the Marlins.

Pick: Tampa Bay Rays -143
Secondary: Over 7.5
Lean: Yandy Diaz Over 1.5 Bases

Final Score Prediction: Tampa Bay Rays win 9-4.