The 2026 World Series is officially set. While it hurts to see our Braves out of the hunt, the matchup between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays is actually a blast. It is a clash of two teams that both share the best records from their respective leagues.
A battle of heavy hitters and big swings
Both of these clubs played a very specific style of baseball this year. They didn’t rely on fancy small ball. Instead, they moved through the postseason by outhomering their opponents. This is interesting because both teams sat in the bottom six for ISO during the regular season. They found a way to make the ball fly when it mattered most.
I love watching teams find a way to win. It does not matter if your stats look bad on paper if you can produce the big hits in October. The Rays and Brewers proved they can punish pitchers. It will be a wild ride to see if that power holds up against each other.
The history of these two clubs
We have actually seen these two teams face each other recently. In their second series of the year, the Rays took a close 3-2 win in Milwaukee. However, the Brewers completely took control of the following two games. Per Battery Power, the Brewers outscored the Rays 14-4 during that stretch.
The Brewers know how to punish mistakes. If the Rays cannot find a way to stop the Milwaukee bats, this series could end very quickly.