MLB Picks 5/27 – Rockies @ Dodgers

The Colorado Rockies (20-36) conclude a three-game set tonight on the road against the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers (36-20) at Dodger Stadium. Los Angeles will look to complete the three-game sweep. This is the seventh head-to-head matchup and second series meeting between the clubs, Los Angeles leads the series 4-2. The Rockies and Dodgers split a four-game set at Colorado in April. The National League West combatants will face off six more times this season.

Los Angeles won the first two games of the series by scores of 5-3 on Monday night, and 15-6 last night. Los Angeles’s 15 runs yesterday tied their season-high. Mookie Betts homered twice and drove in five runs in the victory. Kike Hernandez, Andy Pages and Will Smith also went deep for the Dodgers. Los Angeles has won four in a row, while Colorado has lost four in a row.

In last night’s game, Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani was hit on the padding of his right hand in bottom of the fourth inning. He remained in the game after waiving off manager Dave Roberts and a trainer, but exited in the fifth inning. Despite departing yesterday’s game early, Ohtani is expected to take the mound against the Rockies today.

Tonight’s starters are Tomoyuki Sugano (4-3, 3.86 ERA, 28 strikeouts in 10 starts) for Colorado and Shohei Ohtani (4-2, MLB-leading 54 strikeouts in 8 starts) for Los Angeles.

Moneyline: Colorado (+315), Los Angeles (-411)

Run Line: Colorado +1.5 (+147), Los Angeles -1.5 (-178)

Run Total: over 8 (-117), under 8 (-103)

Last season, the Colorado Rockies fielded one of the worst teams in MLB history, when they finished 43-119. It was the third-worst record in MLB history since MLB adopted the 161-game schedule in 1961. Only the 2024 Chicago White Sox (41-121) and the 1962 New York Mets (42-120) had worse records than the 2025 Colorado Rockies.

Despite avoiding the worst record in MLB history, Colorado had a run differential of minus-424, the worst mark in baseball since 1899. They scored 597 runs and gave up 1,021 runs. The Rockies ranked among the bottom third of MLB in virtually every pitching and hitting category last season.

Coming into the 2026 campaign, Colorado has endured 7 straight losing seasons and 3 straight seasons of at least 100 losses. The Rockies have only made 2 playoff appearances (2017 and 2018) over the last 16 seasons.

Colorado made several key additions in the offseason in hopes of improving on last year’s dismal campaign and reversing the fortunes of the downtrodden franchise.

They added a trio of serviceable starting pitchers in Michael Lorenzen, Tomoyuki Sugano and Jose Quintana, along with a foursome of starting position players in left fielder Mickey Moniak, second baseman Willi Castro, infielder Eduoard Julien and highly-touted rookie first baseman TJ Rumfield.

Rookie first baseman TJ Rumfield has turned out to be the most impactful of all the newcomers.

Colorado acquired the then-25-year-old minor leaguer from the New York Yankees in exchange for relief pitcher Angel Chivilli. Despite playing well in the Yankees farm system over the last few years, Rumfield was going to have a hard time finding a place on their big-league roster due to star power of Paul Goldshmidt and Ben Rice at first base.

TJ Rumfield is compiling an excellent rookie campaign, batting .284 with 7 homers, 27 RBI, 9 doubles and 18 walks across 54 games. He left Monday’s 5-3 loss to the Dodgers after being hit on the hand by a fastball. The x-rays came back negative on Rumfield’s hand and he’s considered day-to-day. Rumsfield missed yesterday’s game against the Dodgers and is questionable for tonight’s contest.

Holdovers Mickey Moniak (.280, team-leading 12 HR and 28 RBI in 43 gms) and Hunter Goodman (.242, 12 HR, 20 RBI in 50 gms), along with newcomer Troy Johnston (team-leading .321, 2 HR, 23 RBI, 14 doubles in 51 gms) are having good seasons at the plate for Colorado. The 28-year-old utility man Johnston has turned out to be an unexpected star for Colorado after they claimed him off waivers (Miami) in November. His .321 batting average ranks third in MLB. Moniak has not played since May 21 due to right ankle tendinitis. He was placed on the 10-day injured-list on May 22.

Despite entering tonight’s contest at 20-36 and on a four-game losing streak, Colorado appears to be a lot better than a year ago when they finished with one of the worst records in MLB history. They were just the games below .500 (13-16) a little over a month ago on Apr. 26. To put things into perspective, Colorado was a putrid 9-47 after 56 games last season.

Last season, the Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series for a second straight year. They became the first team to repeat as champions since the New York Yankees won 3 straight World Series crowns from 1998-2000. The Dodgers outlasted the Toronto Blue Jays in dramatic fashion. After trailing 3-2 heading back to Toronto, the Dodgers staved off elimination with a 3-1 in Game 6 and then picked up a thrilling 5-4 victory in 11 innings in Game 7 to capture back-to-back World Series crowns.

Not surprisingly, the Dodgers winning back-to-back World Series crowns over the last 2 seasons coincides with the signing of two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani as a free agent in December 2023. Los Angeles signed Ohtani to a 10-year, $700 million deal, it was the richest contract in baseball history — until Juan Soto exceeded it a year later when he signed with the New York Mets. Ohtani was named the American League MVP in 2023 with the Los Angeles Angels (.304, 44 HR, 95 RBI) before signing with the Dodgers after that season. He also won the 2021 AL MVP with the Angels.

Shohei Ohtani did not disappoint in his first season with the Dodgers as he amassed one of the best seasons in MLB history when he batted .310 with 54 homers, 130 RBI, 59 stolen bases, 38 doubles, 7 triples and 134 runs scored across 159 games. Ohtani won the MVP for a second straight season, and became the first player in MLB history to hit 50 homers and steal 50 bases in a season. He was strictly a designated hitter in his first season (2024) with the Dodgers due to a UCL injury he sustained in July 2023 with the Angels.

Shohei Ohtani delivered a second straight MVP last season when he hit .282 with 55 homers, 102 RBI, 25 doubles, 9 triples, 20 stolen bases and 109 walks across 158 games. He became the first player in North American sports history to win back-to-back championships and back-to-back MVPs over his first two seasons with a new team. Ohtani returned to pitching in a limited capacity last year. He finished 1-1 with a 2.87 ERA and 62:9 K;BB across 14 starts.

Despite getting hit by a pitch in yesterday’s victory, Shohei Ohtani take the mound tonight against Colorado. The 31-year-old superstar is delivering a dominant pitching season as he’s given up just 4 earned runs over 49 innings across 8 starts. Ohtani has been red-hot over his last 2 starts, striking out 12 over 12 scoreless innings in wins against the San Francisco Giants (4-0) on May 13 and at San Diego (4-0) on May 20.

This one is simple, you have Shohei Ohtani at home pitching against a somewhat depleted Colorado team that is 16 games under .500 at 20-36. I expect another superb performance from Ohtani and a second straight dominant Dodgers win. Take the Dodgers on the Run Line!