SI:AM | What Makes the Rays-Brewers World Series Matchup Unique
Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. Sorry for not previewing the NBA season this morning. I had to give the Rays their due. We’ll talk basketball tomorrow. In the meantime, the rest of the SI team has you covered.
Read more Conor Orr’s Week 7 NFL Power Rankings: Rams Take a Tumble
In today’s SI:AM:
Rays win the pennant
NFL trade candidates
Ugly Jalen Hurts situation
If you’re reading this on SI.com, click here to subscribe and receive SI:AM directly in your inbox each morning.
World Series matchup set
It’s been a long time since we’ve had a World Series matchup like this one.
The Rays took care of the Guardians in Game 6 of the ALCS last night to advance to their third World Series in franchise history. Cleveland made things interesting with a two-out rally in the top of the eighth inning, but Yandy Díaz’s two-run homer in the bottom of the inning gave Tampa Bay some cushion before standout closer Bryan Baker worked a 1-2-3 ninth to close out a 7–3 victory.
That sets up a Fall Classic showdown with the Brewers, with Game 1 set for Friday night in Milwaukee (8 p.m. ET on Fox).
It’s a noteworthy matchup for a variety of reasons, most obviously that neither team has won a World Series before. This will be the Brewers’ first World Series appearance since 1982, when they represented the American League and lost to the Cardinals in seven games. The Rays’ previous appearances came in 2008 (lost in five games to the Phillies) and 2020 (beaten in six games by the Dodgers). It’s just the second time in the past 100 years that the World Series will be contested by two teams that have never won it before. The only other time was in 1980, when the Phillies beat the Royals.
That’s a fun storyline, but I don’t expect it to be the dominant narrative of the series. Get ready to hear a lot of talk about how these teams find ways to win while operating with some of the lowest payrolls in the majors. It’s darkly funny that this World Series-the final baseball games that will be played before a potentially protracted lockout as MLB owners seek to overturn the sport’s entire economic system in the name of “competitive balance”-will be played between teams that rank 19th (Milwaukee) and 28th (Tampa Bay) in 2026 payroll.
Yes, these teams are a couple of real penny-pinchers, but they’re far from underdogs. The Brewers posted the best record in the NL this season at 103–59, and the Rays were the best in the AL (98–64). It’s just the sixth time since the start of the wild-card era that the No. 1 seed in both leagues won the pennant, according to YES Network researcher James Smyth. It’s also just the third time in the 21st century that both teams playing in the World Series won at least 98 games in the regular season.
It’s also rare to see two teams from cities of this size meet in the World Series. Depending on whether you look at metro area population or media market size, it’s either the first time since 2014 (Giants-Royals) or 1997 (Marlins-Cleveland) that the World Series will not feature one of the 10 largest cities in the country.
The “small market” factor and the two teams’ lack of established stars will lead to plenty of hand-wringing over the series’ TV ratings. But who cares? If you’re a baseball fan, this is going to be a great series. It will feature two excellent teams with aggressive styles of play and intimidating bullpens. And hey, it’s better than watching the Dodgers win another one.
The best of Sports Illustrated
- SI NBA Staff: 2026–27 NBA Season Predictions: Finals Picks, Award Winners and Bold Takes
- Tom Verducci: How the Brewers Are Preventing Late-Inning Comebacks
- Karl Rasmussen: Every Team’s Most Consequential Managerial Mistake of the MLB Playoffs
- Ryan Phillips: Rays Bring the Guardians Back to Reality, Book a Trip to the World Series
- Conor Orr: The Eagles Somehow Made the Jalen Hurts Situation Even Worse on Monday
- Conor Orr:Chris Ballard’s Firing Marks Carlie Irsay-Gordon’s First Real Chance to Reshape the Colts
- Matt Verderame:Ranking 15 NFL Players Who Could Be Traded By the Nov. 10 Deadline
- Gilberto Manzano:Undefeated 49ers in the Driver’s Seat in the Sluggish NFC West with a Favorable Schedule Ahead
- Pat Forde: Is a Super League Next After 24-Team College Football Playoff?
- Pat Forde: 10 College Football Coaches Who Went From Hot Seat to Hot Streak
- Pat Forde: The SEC Is More Competitive Than Ever, and It Might Be a Bad Thing
- Kevin Sweeney: How DePaul Went From a Two-Decade Punch Line to the March Madness Bubble Discussion
- Kevin Sweeney:Bill Self Is Betting His Final Kansas Chapter on College Basketball’s Broken System
The top five…
… things I saw last night:
5. Brock Purdy’s throw for a first down while a defender was wrapped around his legs.
4. Angel Reese’s 30 points and 16 rebounds as the Dream beat the Valkyries to tie the WNBA Finals at a game apiece.
3. Mammoth goalie Sebastian Cossa’s clutch save in the final seconds to preserve a win over the Penguins.
2. The English and Spanish home radio calls of the moment the Rays clinched the pennant.
1. Junior Caminero’s ostentatious home run trot after his two-run homer in the seventh.
What we’re watching today …
NBA
Celtics at Pistons, 3 p.m., ET, NBC
Detroit and Boston were the top two teams in the East last season, but each failed to reach the conference finals.
76ers at Knicks, 7 p.m., ET, NBC
LeBron James’s 76ersPhiladelphia debut will come as thefeature KnicksNew York getgetting theirits championship rings and raiseing theirits banner.
Thunder at Spurs, 9:30 p.m., ET, NBC
In a rematch of last season’s Western Conference Finals, the Chet Holmgren-Victor Wembanyama rivalry will take center stage.
Today’s best reads
- Brewers Reach World Series With a Style Today’s Lab-Built Baseball World Nearly Killed
- Rays vs. Brewers Opening Odds for 2026 World Series (Milwaukee Favored to Win First Title in Franchise History)
- 2026 World Series Odds: Rays’ Skyrocket After Game 5 Win vs. Guardians; Brewers Remain Odds-On Favorites
- World Series Odds: Brewers Set as Odds-On Favorites After Sweeping Dodgers
- Four Big-Picture Lessons From the MLB Playoffs So Far
This article was originally published on www.si.com as SI:AM | What Makes the Rays-Brewers World Series Matchup Unique.
Copyright ABG-SI LLC. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Read more Indiana Fever’s Kelsey Mitchell Makes Offseason Announcement After 9th WNBA Season
This story was originally published October 20, 2026 at 9:04 AM.
Post Comment