The Tampa Bay Rays will face the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2026 World Series, beginning Friday, Oct. 23. The matchup will be a clash between the top teams in the American and National leagues, respectively.
The Brewers dominated this year with a franchise-record 103 wins. Milwaukee had a well-balanced team, with strong performances in the starting rotation by rookie Logan Henderson (18 games, 2.47 ERA) and Cy Young frontrunner Jacob Misiorowski (MLB-leading 1.80 ERA and 252 strikeouts), bullpen anchors in Trevor Megill (2.63 ERA, 30 saves), Abner Uribe (61 games, 1.97 ERA) and Aaron Ashby (75 games, 3.12 ERA), as well as strong offensive years for veteran Jake Bauers (team-leading 26 home runs), Brice Turang (team-leading 100 RBI and 37 doubles), and budding superstar Jackson Chourio (25 home runs, .837 OPS).
Tampa Bay reflected similar strengths. Junior Caminero built on his breakout season last year, hitting 42 home runs and driving in 101 runs, anchoring the lineup for the Rays. Longtime Tampa Bay player Ray Yandy Diaz also provided his typical consistent production, with a .293 average and league-leading 180 hits, and outfielder Chandler Simpson hit .306 while using his speed to steal 46 bases. On the mound, closer Bryan Baker led the bullpen’s charge, posting a 1.44 ERA with an MLB-leading 41 saves. Their rotation had numerous stalwarts, from Drew Rasmussen (2.67 ERA) to Nick Martinez (3.10 ERA), as well as trade deadline pickup Freddy Peralta (10 starts, 3.25 ERA).
Both teams cruised in their respective Division Series matchups. The Rays swept the New York Yankees in the best-of-five series, while Milwaukee needed just one extra game to secure the win over the San Diego Padres in a hotly contested series. Their paths to a win in the Championship Series were quite different, however.
After being swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers in last year’s Championship Series, the Brewers returned the favor in 2026. Milwaukee’s bullpen led the charge in limiting the Dodgers’ potent lineup, most notably keeping Shohei Ohtani (.231 average) off the board until Game 4. Jake Bauers was crowned NLCS MVP after playing a pivotal role in winning Game 3 of the series with a late 2-run home run off Blake Snell.
The Rays battled the Cleveland Guardians, needing six games to defeat them. Key hitters like Jonathan Aranda and Junior Caminero had a relatively quiet series, with Caminero only breaking through at the end. But their starters showed up again in a big way, with Drew Rasmussen and ALCS MVP Freddy Peralta combining to throw 25 innings and allowing just four runs. Closer Bryan Baker continued his October dominance, adding four scoreless innings and two saves to his name.
Whichever team is crowned champion will make history. Neither the Rays nor the Brewers have won a World Series yet, making this the first showdown between potential first-time champions since the Philadelphia Phillies and Kansas City Royals met in the 1980 World Series. The Rays appeared in the Fall Classic in 2008, losing to Philadelphia, and in 2020, losing to the Dodgers. The Brewers, meanwhile, have not appeared in the World Series since 1982, marking one of the longest droughts between appearances in the series. Their closest attempt since was in 2018, when they lost in the NLCS against the Dodgers in seven games.
