Rays-Brewers World Series Breakdown: Stacking Lineups, Pitchers, Bullpen
Don't be surprised by this World Series matchup. The Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays had the two best regular season records in their respective leagues — and they've shown why during the playoffs.
Both have the talent to give us a worthy Fall Classic. Star aces in Jacob Misiorowski and Drew Rasmussen. Young sluggers in Jackson Chourio and Junior Caminero. Let's look at these squads as we get set for Game 1.
It’s a brand of baseball that’s very similar to the Brewers. They emphasize their elite bat-to-ball ability and propensity for stealing bases.
The Rays take pride in their defense – they committed one error in the ALDS and none in the ALCS. Even the Brewers, who are built to be sharp in the dirt, have committed eight errors this postseason. Tampa Bay’s parade of pitchers and depth hardly ever let them down, and if they did, their team culture, advanced analytics and careful coaching helped design solutions that worked.
The Rays led the AL East all year, won the division, swept the Yankees in the ALDS, and it wasn’t until they lost Game 1 of the ALCS against the Guardians that they experienced their first real test of adversity.
It didn’t last very long. Tampa Bay tied the ALCS at 1-1, winning their home game before going on the road to a hostile Cleveland environment. The Guardians won Game 3, putting them out in front of the Rays again. Tampa won Game 4, tying the series at 2-2.
With all the back and forth, it seemed like the series might go the distance. But once the Rays got back in the driver’s seat in Game 5, defeating the Guardians at Progressive Field and confidently declaring that the series would end in Game 6, they were in complete control. Their biggest bats, Junior Caminero and Yandy Diaz, came alive.
Their trade-deadline acquisition, right-handed veteran Freddy Peralta, used his elite fastball to shut Cleveland down in multiple games. Their bullpen arms bent but did not break. The Rays earned a trip to the World Series not because of luck, but by relying on the winning baseball they played all year.
By cooling off the hottest team in baseball, then sweeping the defending back-to-back champions like it was nothing.
The Brewers were the best team in MLB this year, winning a franchise-record 103 games, but they were not rewarded with an easy path through October.
They had to face a Padres team that had the highest winning percentage in the sport the last two months of the season, and they beat them 3-1 in four back-and-forth battles in the NLDS.
What they did next stated, emphatically, that this was not the same Brewers team of years past. In the NLCS, the Brewers became the first MLB team ever to sweep the team that swept them the season prior. They steamrolled the Dodgers in every facet, outhitting them, outpitching them, even outslugging the squad full of superstars.
The Brew Crew constantly put on pressure and never go away. In the NLCS, the Brewers became the first team ever to sweep a best-of-seven series after trailing in all four games. They’re 7-1 in the playoffs, with six of those wins coming in comeback fashion — the most by any team through a club’s first eight games of a postseason.
The Rays were tied — with the Brewers – for the MLB lead in batting average (.268) this season. They struck out the fewest times (18.8%) and had the lowest swing-and-miss rate (20.7%) among all MLB teams. They stole the second-most bases (164) in the majors. Their on-base percentage (.326) ranked fifth in MLB.
No, they didn’t lead the league in home runs or slugging as a team, but they didn’t need to. The Rays had to provide just enough pop from the plate to complement their elite contact-oriented approach.
That’s where the Rays’ Big Three came in. Led by Caminero’s 42 home runs, the top of Tampa Bay’s lineup was all slug. Diaz and Jonathan Aranda both crushed 22 home runs this season. The trio of Caminero, Diaz and Aranda led the team in RBI and runs scored.
The bottom half of the Rays lineup understood its role. Hitters like Liam Hicks, Victor Mesa Jr., Cedric Mullins, Jonny DeLuca, Chandler Simpson, Richie Palacios and Taylor Walls prioritized making impacts in other ways, like batting for high averages and being smart on the basepaths.
It’s a winning formula that creates relentless pressure for opposing teams, forcing them to be perfect in order to win.
The Brewers had the lowest chase rate in MLB this year. They’re a group known for wearing opponents down through contact, speed, plate discipline and manufactured runs.
But in the NLCS, where they had six more homers than the mighty Dodgers, they demonstrated that they can win in a multitude of ways.
Perhaps no one epitomizes this offense better than journeyman Jake Bauers, who has been in seven different organizations and went from nearly quitting baseball a couple years ago to the 2026 NLCS MVP.
In Game 2, he worked a 12-pitch walk against Yoshinobu Yamamoto. In Game 3, he hit a go-ahead home run off Blake Snell on the 11th pitch of the at-bat. In Game 4, his two-run, ground-rule double cut the Dodgers’ lead in half, and he later drew a bases-loaded walk to bring in the tying run.
They’re led atop the lineup by 22-year-old Jackson Chourio, who is already the franchise’s all-time postseason leader in home runs and RBI and has knocked in more runs in the playoffs than any player under the age of 23 in MLB history.
William Contreras has been their star hitter this October, slashing .367/.457/.700 with three home runs, but the Brewers are getting clutch contributions up and down the lineup. With runners in scoring position, they’re hitting .284 with a .398 on-base percentage as a team this postseason. Maybe it shouldn’t come as a surprise; they’ve done this all year.
This is not the rotation the Rays were expecting, so it’s that much more incredible that they’re having this much success.
Ryan Pepiot sustained an injury in spring training. Steven Matz was moved to the bullpen. Shane McClanahan sustained a season-ending injury towards the end of the year. The Rays had no choice but to make a huge move at the trade deadline for a starting pitcher, preferably for an elite arm, which is why the decision to acquire Freddy Peralta has loomed so large.
Peralta has a 1.08 ERA in four games (three starts) and 16 ⅔ innings pitched this postseason. He made a key appearance from the bullpen in ALCS Game 4 and prevented the Guardians from taking the lead.
Peralta finally started Tampa Bay’s AL-pennant winning clincher in Game 6, limiting Cleveland to one run over 5 ⅓ innings, sending the club to the World Series, and winning ALCS MVP.
The 30-year-old right-hander has seamlessly fit into an elite Rays rotation that’s led by ace Drew Rasmussen and right-hander Nick Martinez — both All-Stars in 2026. Tampa’s starters lead all clubs this October with a 1.98 ERA in 50 innings pitched.
It might seem strange, considering they feature the likely National League Cy Young Award winner atop the rotation, but this is Milwaukee’s biggest question mark entering the World Series.
The Brewers haven’t had a starter go more than five innings yet this postseason, though that is partly by design to get the ball to their high-leverage behemoths in relief.
The Padres and Dodgers both did a good job working ace Jacob Misiorowski, who needed 88 pitches to get through four innings in the NLDS and 94 pitches to go 4.1 innings in the NLCS. Logan Henderson was the only sure thing behind Misiorowski entering the playoffs, and his final line against the Dodgers (4 IP, 4 R, 2 ER) would have looked a lot better if not for his own two errors in that game.
But the biggest lift so far has come from Robert Gasser, who has stepped up to give the Brewers a reliable third starter. Gasser held the Padres to one run in four innings and the Dodgers to five scoreless innings.
Dustin May and Shane Drohan, who have each started a game this October, give the Brewers more depth options. And apparently Brandon Woodruff, who hasn’t pitched since July due to a shoulder issue, has a chance to be activated for this series.
Ultimately, though, the Brewers’ starting success will primarily come down to how much they get out of Misiorowski. They might need more from their top two arms going forward if the Rays turn this into a longer series.
It’s understandable for Rays fans to be a little anxious every time manager Kevin Cash gives the ball to the bullpen.
Nevermind that they blew up in Game 1 of the ALCS against the Guardians. Rays relievers recorded a 3.99 ERA (ranked 14th in MLB) in the regular season. But since then, closer Bryan Baker has become all but unhittable in October. Baker has pitched seven scoreless innings and allowed just one hit in his seven relief appearances this postseason. He’s allowed just two walks and recorded six strikeouts and five saves in that stretch.
But the quieter success of the Rays bullpen comes down to one key arm: left-hander Ian Seymour. He’s been a swiss-army knife for the Rays, pitching bulk innings out of the bullpen in high-leverage situations, recording 10 strikeouts in 7 ⅓ innings pitched this October. Whenever his name is called, Seymour has answered.
Milwaukee is more than happy to turn every game into a bullpen battle. The Brewers’ bullpen is 7-1 with a 1.33 ERA this postseason. Their high-leverage weapons attack with high heat from different angles and have overpowered and overwhelmed their opponents to this point.
The team’s five most-used relievers — Aaron Ashby, Abner Uribe, Trevor Megill, DL Hall and JoJo Romero — have combined for a 0.77 ERA in 35 playoff innings.
After allowing just one earned run in 19 innings against the Padres in the NLDS, the Brewers’ bullpen went 4-0 with a 2.08 ERA against the Dodgers. Ashby, a multi-inning weapon whose 12.1 innings this postseason lead all MLB relievers, has not allowed a run in October.
Neither has Megill, who is 4-for-4 in save opportunities and has surrendered just one hit and two walks in five appearances. Hall, meanwhile, has picked up three wins in four scoreless appearances.
There has been a significant reliance on those arms to this point — the Brewers’ bullpen is averaging more than five innings per game this postseason — but an NLCS sweep provided a reset, and neither the Padres nor the Dodgers could push their series long enough to turn that heavy workload into a potential issue for Milwaukee. Can Tampa Bay present more of a challenge?
How To Watch The 2026 World Series
The 2026 World Series between the Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers, who are each seeking their first championship triumph, can be exclusively viewed on FOX, beginning on Oct. 23.
Game 1: Friday, Oct. 23
- Rays at Brewers (8 p.m. ET)
Game 2: Saturday, Oct. 24
- Rays at Brewers (8 p.m. ET)
Game 3: Monday, Oct. 26
- Brewers at Rays (8 p.m. ET)
Game 4: Tuesday, Oct. 27
- Brewers at Rays (8 p.m. ET)
Game 5*: Wednesday, Oct. 28
- Brewers at Rays (8 p.m. ET)
Game 6*: Friday, Oct. 30
- Rays at Brewers (8 p.m. ET)
Game 7*: Saturday, Oct. 31
- Rays at Brewers (8 p.m. ET)
* - if necessary
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