The Tampa Bay Rays host the Miami Marlins on Sunday, June 8, 2025. First pitch from George M. Steinbrenner Field is scheduled for 12:10 p.m. ET; the game will be broadcast on FanDuel Sports Sun/Florida.
Tampa Bay dropped a thriller in Saturday’s game, failing to score in extras and falling 11-10. Can the Marlins pull off the upset to win the series, or will the scalding hot Rays win another?
Find my Marlins vs Rays prediction below, as well as probable pitchers, betting trends, and more for Sunday.
My Marlins vs Rays Prediction
- Marlins vs Rays picks: Rays -1.5 (play to -145)
My Marlins vs Rays best bet is the Rays to cover the spread (-1.5). Make sure to find the best odds by checking our live MLB odds page.
Marlins vs Rays Odds
| Marlins Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+1.5 +101 | 8.5 -121o / -101u | +202 |
| Rays Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-1.5 -123 | 8.5 -121o / -101u | -253 |
Marlins vs Rays Projected Starting Pitchers
| LHP Anthony Veneziano (MIA) | Stat | RHP Drew Rasmussen (TB) |
|---|---|---|
| 0-0 | W-L | 5-4 |
| -0.4 | fWAR (FanGraphs) | 1.3 |
| 4.58/5.75 | ERA /xERA | 2.14/3.09 |
| 5.79/4.63 | FIP / xFIP | 3.29/3.24 |
| 1.53 | WHIP | 0.87 |
| 9.8% | K-BB% | 18.1% |
| 48.3% | GB% | 51.5% |
| 98 | Stuff+ | 112 |
| 104 | Location+ | 102 |
Sean Paul’s Marlins vs Rays Preview
Miami Marlins Betting Preview
The Marlins will turn to an opener, Anthony Veneziano for Sunday’s start after Max Meyer left his previous outing with an injury and landed on the injured list.
It’ll likely be a brief outing for Veneziano, who's only pitched beyond one inning twice in 20 games this year. Miami likely wants the Rays to drop Brandon Lowe or have him face a left-handed pitcher in the first inning.
Once Veneziano departs, Miami has a pair of bulk options.
One is the more proven Valente Bellozo or the recently recalled Connor Gillespie. Neither pitcher is ideal for the Marlins. Bellozo has a fools-gold 2.90 ERA — he also has 3.82 xERA and 4.17 FIP. He also walks almost four batters per nine.
On the other hand, Gillespie hasn’t pitched in an MLB game since April after posting an 8.65 ERA through six starts. He’s batting practice for the Rays.
The Marlins offense is about what I expected it to be in the preseason. They rank 20th in MLB with a 95 wRC+ since May 15. The most concerning part is Miami’s lack of power, ranking 25th in isolated power (ISO) and tied for 29th in home runs.
Kyle Stowers has struggled recently, posting a 68 wRC+ with a 26% strikeout rate in his last 18 games. The Marlins were a different team during Stowers' hot streak and I can’t see them cracking Rasmussen without Stowers or Jesus Sanchez doing something.
Tampa Bay Rays Betting Preview
Don’t let the loss on Saturday deceive you. The Rays are among the hottest teams in MLB, tallying wins in seven of their last 10 games to solidify themselves as legitimate Wild Card contenders.
Just saying the words “23 innings” might not sound like much, but let me tell you why it’s important.. That’s the amount of consecutive scoreless innings tallied by Drew Rasmussen, who’ll take the ball in the series finale versus the Marlins. He enters Sunday’s outing with a brilliant 2.14 ERA with a 3.10 xERA and a 0.87 WHIP.
Rasmussen records the majority of his outs via the strikeout and ground ball, as 74% of his outs are a mix of the two. He ranks in the 83rd percentile in ground-ball rate thanks to an elite sinker. He also features a dominant four-seamer, but the lack of a true putaway pitch drops his K/9 to 8.00.
I’m really starting to buy stock in Tampa Bay’s offense. Even with Yandy Diaz struggling, the Rays rank fourth in MLB with a 118 wRC+ since May 15.
The difference is the emergence of Junior Caminero, who has a 196 wRC+ and seven homers and the resurgence of Brandon Lowe, who has a 198 wRC+ and seven homers in that span.
There’s also been a huge power surge in Tampa. It ranks fourth with 29 homers and with an .180 ISO in that same span.
Marlins vs Rays Prediction, Betting Analysis
Not only is Rasmussen a major advantage over the Marlins' pitcher group, but the lineup disparity isn’t even close.
Justifiably, the Rays are -250 favorites. That feels correct. I’ll take Tampa Bay -1.5 runs at anything under -145. This game has blowout written all over it.
Pick: Rays -1.5 (play to -145)
Moneyline
I have no play on the moneyline.
Run Line (Spread)
My pick is the Rays to cover.
Over/Under
I have no game total bet.
