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Los Angeles Dodgers at Milwaukee Brewers prediction, pick for Friday 5/22/26

Los Angeles Dodgers at Milwaukee Brewers prediction, pick for Friday 5/22/26

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By: Griffin Wong

Last season, the Milwaukee Brewers dominated the Los Angeles Dodgers during the regular season, winning all six matchups. But the Dodgers got their get-back in the postseason, sweeping Milwaukee en route to its second consecutive World Series title and leaving the Brewers as one of just five teams without a World Series title.

The two teams, who are widely expected to make deep playoff runs again this season, will face off for the first time this season tonight at 7:40 p.m. ET in Milwaukee in the opener of a three-game set. The Brewers will travel to Southern California for four games later this season.

Breakout star Justin Wrobleski will start for Los Angeles, and Milwaukee will counter with Logan Henderson.

Let’s break down this matchup with some odds and lines at DraftKings Sportsbook.

Los Angeles Dodgers at Milwaukee Brewers prediction, preview

Given their expectations, it feels like the Dodgers have been disappointing, as after a lightning-fast start to the season (15-4), they’ve since gone just 16-15. Still, they’re getting hot again, winning seven of their last eight games, and their run differential trails only the Atlanta Braves’. After finishing second in OPS last season, they’ve been slightly better so far despite Shohei Ohtani’s comparatively slow offensive start, as Andy Pages leads the National League in WAR and all of the major leagues in RBI’s. Utilitymen Dalton Rushing and Alex Call, neither of whom played much of a factor in Los Angeles’ World Series title, have emerged as valuable contributors, though Rushing is currently mired in a four-for-34 slump. Additionally, the Dodgers’ bullpen, which was one of the worst units in baseball last season, has been the third-best so far in 2026, and their rotation has been expectedly brilliant despite World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto having a comparatively poor season and two-time Cy Young Blake Snell making just one start.

The Brewers have been even better; since a loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on April 14 dropped them to 8-8, they’ve gone 21-10, and they lead the NL Central despite all five teams being over .500. They’ve been the hottest team in the National League over the last 10 games, winning eight of them. Milwaukee’s pitching has been particularly strong; after finishing with the third-best rotation and sixth-best bullpen in the majors in 2025, it has exactly those same rankings (but slightly better marks) so far in 2026. DL Hall, Aaron Ashby, and newly-promoted closer Abner Uribe have been been the linchpins of a strong bullpen, and Jacob Misiorowski and Kyle Harrison have formed arguably the best one-two starter punch in the league. Offensively, the Brewers have slowed down, falling from 11th in OPS last season to 17th so far in 2026, but with Brice Turang emerging as arguably the best second baseman in baseball and Jackson Chourio and Christian Yelich both returning from the injured list, they still have enough juice to ride their pitching to a title.

After a five-start stretch in which he pitched to just a 0.56 ERA, Wrobleski had one of the quirkiest starts in MLB history on May 10, giving up seven earned runs but pitching 8.2 innings on just 100 pitches. All in all, though, it’s hard to argue with his overall numbers, as he has given up two or fewer earned runs in all but two of his starts and ranks 10th in the NL in ERA. His Statcast profile suggests that he’s full of highs and lows; while his 98th-percentile pitching run value is among the best in baseball, he almost never produces strikeouts or whiffs, so Milwaukee — one of the league’s best contact teams — should expect to put the ball in play with regularity. He also has allowed hard hits at an above-average rate and has a 28th-percentile expected batting average, though the soft-hitting Brewers aren’t suited to take advantage. Overall, given that Los Angeles has been one of the best fielding teams in baseball, Wrobleski should likely be able to offer six or seven solid innings, even though he’s been slightly worse on the road throughout his career and Milwaukee slightly better at home.

Like Wrobleski, Henderson has been one of this season’s breakout stars. He’s made four starts this season, giving up two or fewer runs in all of them, and he has a 2.49 career ERA in nine starts to go along with a 1.02 ERA in five appearances in the minors this season. While the sample size is small, he has better advanced numbers than Wrobleski, recording an 83rd-percentile expected ERA, and combining a 95th-percentile strikeout rate with a 97th-percentile walk rate is pretty much a guaranteed recipe for success. The issue for Henderson, though, is that the damage tends to come in waves: because he struggles to induce grounders, he sports just a 17th-percentile barrel rate, and the Dodgers rank third in the league in fly ball rate and third in barrel rate. It doesn’t help him that Los Angeles, in a reversal of its 2025 form, has been significantly better on the road this season, posting a league-best .822 OPS.

Los Angeles Dodgers at Milwaukee Brewers pick, best bet

Best Bet: Los Angeles Dodgers Moneyline (-110)

This game is as pure of a toss-up as it gets, but I trust the Dodgers more to get to Henderson than the Brewers to get to Wrobleski, mostly because Los Angeles’ high barrel rate aligns with Henderson’s biggest weakness and Milwaukee’s soft-hitting nature should help Wrobleski avoid major damage.

Strong Lean: Justin Wrobleski O17.5 Outs Recorded (-140)

Because he peppers the zone and doesn’t produce a lot of whiffs, Wrobleski is extremely efficient, and he’s gotten through the sixth inning in each of his last six starts. The Brewers make plenty of contact, but they rank fourth-to-last in expected batting average. They hit grounders on more than half of their batted balls, and each member of the Dodgers’ infield has at least a median fielding run value. Plus, with the inconsistent Roki Sasaki set to pitch tomorrow, Los Angeles might need to save its bullpen.

I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skills and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.