World Series: Brewers vs Rays
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
The Milwaukee Brewers face the Tampa Bay Rays in a World Series where neither team has ever won a title.
It is the first such matchup since 1980, so one franchise gets its first championship.
Background
The Brewers are Milwaukee's MLB club, and the Rays play in St. Petersburg, Florida. Milwaukee reached this World Series by sweeping the Dodgers in the NLCS (the National League championship series), after leading the majors with a franchise-record 103 wins. The Rays won the ALCS (American League championship series) in six games over the Guardians, their third pennant in 29 seasons. Neither franchise has ever won a World Series, making this the first matchup of two first-time title seekers since 1980, when the Phillies beat the Royals.
How it unfolded
- Mar 30, 2026 –Apr 1, 2026The Brewers took two of three games from the Rays in Milwaukee during the regular season.
- Oct 15, 2026The Brewers completed an NLCS sweep of the Dodgers in Los Angeles.
- Oct 19, 2026The Rays beat the Guardians 7-3 in Game 6 of the ALCS in St. Petersburg to win their third pennant in 29 seasons.
- Oct 22, 2026The Rays held a workout at American Family Field ahead of the World Series.
- Oct 23, 2026World Series Game 1 is set for American Family Field in Milwaukee, with Game 2 there on Oct. 24; Games 3-5 are scheduled for Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.
Who’s saying what
- Analysts
- ESPN's Doolittle sees the Brewers as the definitive favorite and picks them to win in six.
- Party
- Rays manager Kevin Cash told his team "We got one more bite!" as the clubhouse celebration began.
- Party
- ALCS MVP Freddy Peralta said the pennant "is not only mine. We all earned this. This is for the boys."
- Caution
- Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said of his eliminated team, "It just hurts. It stings."
Still unverified
Sources differ on the Rays' regular-season win total: MLB.com lists 97, while FOX Sports, Yahoo and SI list 98. Sources also differ on Game 1's start time: 8 p.m. ET per MLB.com and Yahoo, versus 2:00 p.m. ET per SI.