Well, we have arrived at the World Series. The Brewers and Rays were the top teams in the NL & AL, respectively, during the regular season. Now, the two clubs will square off in the 2026 Fall Classic to see which group of players can earn their club a World Series title. That is something that neither franchise has done to this point. Here’s our preview of the series.
Scheduled Starters & Start Times
- Game 1: Nick Martinez (Rays) vs. Jacob Misiorowski (Brewers)
- Game 2: Drew Rasmussen (Rays) vs. Logan Henderson (Brewers)
- Game 3: TBD vs. TBD
- Game 4: TBD vs. TBD
- Game 5: TBD vs. TBD
- Game 6: TBD vs. TBD
- Game 7: TBD vs. TBD
Games 1 & 2 will be in Milwaukee and take place on October 23 and 24, respectively. Then, the series will shift to St. Petersburg for Games 3 through 5, scheduled for October 26-28, 2026. Should a sixth or seventh game be necessary, Milwaukee will host on October 30 and 31.
All games are scheduled to begin at 8 PM ET/7 PM CT. FOX will air all games in the United States.
A Look at the Offenses
| Stat |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Runs Scored | 736 | 832 |
| Home Runs | 169 | 154 |
| OPS | .728 | .744 |
| Whiff% | 20.7% | 24.1% |
| Hard Hit% | 34.6% | 40.3% |
While both the Brewers & Rays have embraced the game of chaos, one brand has stood out more during October. That would be the Rays.
Heading into play on October 23, the Rays’ team Chase% is 35%, the third-highest behind the Phillies and Red Sox. And yet, that hasn’t hurt the club whatsoever.
Part of the reason why is that the club has smart, adept hitters; individuals who won’t do too much at the plate. Richie Palacios was a hero for the Rays during the ALCS against the Guardians. He’s batted .364 through the first two rounds. Tons of contact from the veteran utilityman.
Yandy Diaz, who led all playoff hitters in Barrel%, racked up two home runs in the ALCS and six total extra-base hits in the first two rounds.
The swing-and-miss has been up for the Rays, not a shock for several reasons. But realistically, that doesn’t matter. What the Rays have done this playoff is grind at-bats — Ryan Vilade, a platoon player, is a perfect example of that — and keep the line moving. Simple, yet effective.
The Brewers also wore down opposing teams’ pitching staffs this October, albeit in a different manner. Out of the top 21 hitters in Take% over this postseason, just one (Vilade) was on the Rays. For the Brewers, it was three (Jake Bauers, Sal Frelick, Garrett Mitchell).
Perhaps no hitter on the Brewers is more symbolic of grit and perseverance than Bauers, who nearly retired after 2024 and wound up with a career year in 2026. The ex-Ray then had a seminal moment in the NLCS when he worked an 11-pitch at-bat in Game 3 that resulted in a home run off Blake Snell.
Bauers had seven total walks in the first two rounds, tied with Brice Turang for most on the club.
Overall, this has been a complete effort by the Brewers. Christian Yelich, the captain of the Brewers, had seven hits in seven games. David Hamilton will walk into the World Series with a .455 average, while William Contreras leads the club in home runs (3) and total hits (11).
Brewers hitters have whiffed just 25% in the playoffs, slightly lower than what the Rays (25.7%) have done.
A Look at the Pitching
| Stat | | |
|---|---|---|
| Starters’ ERA | 3.51 | 3.61 |
| Relievers’ ERA | 3.99 | 3.40 |
| Strikeouts | 1322 | 1544 |
| Opponents’ AVG | .229 | .211 |
| Chase% | 32.8% | 30.4% |
To state that this will be an interesting series, as far as pitching is concerned, is an understatement.
We’ll start with the starters, as Nick Martinez will get the ball in Game 1 for Tampa Bay and go against Jacob Misiorowski. That pushes Drew Rasmussen to face Logan Henderson in Game 2, which likely means Freddy Peralta won’t pitch until the Rays return home to Tropicana Field.
Martinez will face a Brewers team similar to the one he faced three times as a Red in 2025. The right-hander pitched two innings of shutout ball back on September 27 of last year but didn’t make it past five in his other two outings as a starter. Back in March with Tampa Bay, Martinez allowed two runs over six innings against Milwaukee.
Misiorowski, meanwhile, will look to blow away some hitters in the World Series. It came near effortlessly during the regular season but that hasn’t been the case so much in the playoffs. “The Miz” had just a 22.3% Whiff% in his first two postseason starts.
Henderson pitched well in the NLCS against the Dodgers, although his misplays in the field nearly cost him and the Brewers in that game. Still, it’s been a good run. The right-hander, walking into the World Series, has mixed his fastball and changeup well, which helped him earn one of the top swing-and-miss rates in the playoffs off that heater alone.
Ahead of him is Rasmussen, who will face the team that drafted and signed him before he was shipped to Tampa Bay for Willy Adames five years ago. A ton of swing-and-miss and chase has been the name of the game for Rasmussen, who’s shown his stuff on a national level this October.
Rays pitchers, overall, have done a much better job at getting hitters to expand the zone. Tampa Bay, heading into the World Series, had a combined team chase rate of 32.4%. The Brewers, which had to deal with the Dodgers and Padres, came in with the second-lowest rate (27.5%) in the postseason.
However, Brewers relief pitchers have largely shut the door during the postseason. JoJo Romero, Trevor Megill, Aaron Ashby, and Abner Uribe have all played key roles.
Our Prediction
This will be a tight series. Both teams have strong pitching staffs, plus multiple ways to win a game.
But one team has to win. And for the World Series, betting on the Brewers may not be a good idea, even though the club did have a longer layoff between the Championship Series and the World Series. If last year was any indication, perhaps that’s not a big deal in the long run.
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