The 2026 World Series is set, and for the first time in years it will crown a brand-new champion. The Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays will meet in the Fall Classic, which opens Friday night at American Family Field in Milwaukee, according to MLB.
Milwaukee brings the best record in baseball at 103-59 and home-field advantage after sweeping the back-to-back champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS, Reuters reports. The Brewers are back in the World Series for the first time since 1982, and manager Pat Murphy has leaned into the underdog label all October, telling reporters after the sweep, "They may have a bunch of Hall of Famers, but we have a bunch of gamers. And the gamers won this week."
Tampa Bay earned its trip the hard way. The Rays went 98-64 in the regular season and needed six games to put away the Cleveland Guardians, clinching the pennant 7-3 on Monday night behind home runs from Junior Caminero and Yandy Diaz, as MLB.com detailed.
The matchup guarantees MLB a first-time champion, since neither franchise has ever won the title. It is also a study in contrasts off the field: FOX Sports notes reported payrolls of roughly $150 million for Milwaukee against just $96 million for Tampa Bay, a gap that will put managerial decisions and pitching matchups under the microscope.
Games 1 and 2 are in Milwaukee, with the series then shifting to Tropicana Field for Games 3 through 5. The Rays' home park, which lost its roof to Hurricane Milton in October 2024 and forced a temporary relocation last season, has been repaired in time to host World Series baseball, Reuters reports. A potential Game 7 would be played in Milwaukee on October 31.