TAMPA - The Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers will meet in the 2026 World Series in only the sixth No. 1-vs.-No. 1 matchup in the past 30 years, and the first Fall Classic since 1980 in which neither franchise has ever won a championship - a distinction that last occurred in 1920.
The series pairs two organizations with deep personnel ties. Rays starters Drew Rasmussen and Freddy Peralta both came up with Milwaukee and were teammates on the 2020-21 Brewers. NLCS MVP Jake Bauers made his major league debut with Tampa Bay in 2018, and Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold spent nine years in the Rays front office before moving to Wisconsin.
On the field, the matchup tilts toward Milwaukee in four of eight position-player categories, with Tampa Bay holding edges at shortstop, third base and right field. No team struck out less in the regular season than the Rays, and both clubs finished in the top five in stolen bases and the bottom 10 in home runs - a style of play that gives the series a throwback character.
Tampa Bay’s clearest advantage sits at third base, where Junior Caminero posted his second consecutive 40-plus homer season and is expected to finish high in AL MVP voting. Caminero has faced an average fastball of 96.8 mph across eight playoff games. In right field, Victor Mesa Jr. - who was not on the Opening Day roster and did not join the Rays for good until late May - posted a 127 OPS+ in half a season with what the breakdown describes as “truly elite defensive metrics” and “an absolute cannon of a throwing arm.”
Milwaukee’s biggest positional edge comes at second base, where Brice Turang hit 21 home runs and drove in 100 runs during the regular season. The breakdown calls Turang “the best all-around second baseman in the game” and describes the Tampa Bay second-base duo of Richie Palacios and Ben Williamson as “a relatively below-average spot” - calling it “probably the biggest mismatch of any pairing on the list.”
At catcher, Brewers veteran William Contreras posted a 1.157 OPS with three home runs across eight playoff games. Tampa Bay’s midseason acquisition Liam Hicks posted a 129 OPS+ in 41 regular-season games for the Rays but has been quiet at the plate in October.
Taylor Walls holds the shortstop edge for Tampa Bay despite posting a .381 OPS this month - a figure the breakdown notes was aided by three walks Cleveland issued him in ALCS Game 6. Milwaukee rookie Cooper Pratt has committed several miscues in the postseason, tilting the advantage to the more reliable-gloved Walls.
In left field, Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio - 22 years old and the only player in history to record three 20-20 seasons through age 22 - holds the edge over Rays speedster Chandler Simpson, who was named a Gold Glove finalist. Both Yelich, in his ninth season as a Brewer, and Yandy Díaz, in his eighth season with Tampa Bay, anchor the designated hitter spot for their respective clubs, with the breakdown noting neither is at or near his offensive peak.
Game 1 of the 2026 World Series is scheduled to begin this week.