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The Milwaukee Brewers are a decided favorite against the Tampa Bay Rays headed into Game 1 of the World Series, and will attempt to guard against a letdown amid news of Brandon Woodruff losing his roster spot. Captain Christian Yelich made his expectations clear heading into the series, but the Brewers could have a battle on their hands against a fired-up Rays squad.
Milwaukee is coming off of a monumental, historic sweep of the former back-to-back champion Los Angeles Dodgers, adding to expectations for a first-ever World Series championship.
Meanwhile, the Rays are in the same boat, having never won a World Series in franchise history. Something has to give, and the Rays won’t back down going up against the favored Brewers.
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Here are four reasons why the Brewers will choke in the 2026 fall classic.
Reason #1: Rays are playing loose
The Rays are playing loose, wild and free ahead of the World Series coming off of a huge win over a Guardians team that was as talented as any in baseball outside of the Dodgers and Brewers.
Watching the celebrations in the locker room after Tampa Bay’s 4-2 win gave the feeling that this is a team that still has new plateaus to reach after they defeated Cleveland soundly in the decisive Game 6.
The Rays are as fun to watch as any team in baseball which looks like the perfect kryptonite to Murphy’s team and their at-times buttoned down approach. The Brewers were coming off of a loss to the Dodgers in 2025 and had the added factors of familiarity and revenge going into their 2026 NLCS series.
The Rays will be a different animal entirely. The familiarity factor is low between the two teams, which will play to manager Kevin Cash’s team’s favor as they will come out with guns blazing in Game 1 of the World Series.
Reason #2: Clutch hitting
The Rays’ Yandy Diaz and Junior Caminero have the look of a new bash brothers heading into the World Series after their heroic performances in Game 6 against the Guardians.
Diaz and Caminero each smashed two-run home runs to give the Rays a 7-3 win over a Guardians pitching staff that was absolutely torched when they were most needed. They have the power and exuberance needed to feast against Brewers pitching, and are supported by a Tampa Bay lineup that has been clutch during the playoffs.
The Rays’ hitting order isn’t full of household names like the Dodgers’, but that won’t matter as they have the spirit and the youth to break free against the Brewers’ pitching staff. Expect big series from Diaz and Caminero as they vie for MVP honors against Murphy’s team.
Reason #3: One-two punch
The one-two starting pitching punch of Drew Rasmussen and ALCS MVP Freddy Peralta gives the Rays an advantage and a hope to steal a game or two in Milwaukee. Rasmussen showed love to the Brewers ahead of the series, but it’s a frightening thing when he takes the mound and flips the switch.
Peralta won the ALCS MVP and has an ERA barely above 1.00 (1.08). He has been lights out this postseason as has Rasmussen in more innings (21.0 to 16.2).
The Brewers’ starting pitching is simply not comparable, although ace Jacob Misiorowski has a chance to up his game against the Rays after recording a 3.24 ERA so far this postseason.
Misiorowski has ace stuff, Peralta and Rasmussen have pitched like aces all throughout the playoffs. There’s a big difference, and the Rays’ duo has done it in way more innings so far this postseason.
Reason #4: Rays’ hot streak
The Rays are coming into Game 1 on a hot streak and ready to battle while the Brewers may have a little rust after making short work of Dave Roberts’ Los Angeles Dodgers. The Rays are playing the best baseball in the Majors right now and they’re doing it while having fun and enlivening their fans.
They’ve also beaten the New York Yankees this postseason, showing they know how to go toe-to-toe with an MLB juggernaut, not feel intimidated, and to win in convincing fashion, similar to what the Brewers did against the Dodgers. While the Brewers’ win over the Dodgers gets the most credit, and rightfully so, beating the Yankees and Guardians in back-to-back series is just as impressive as anything Milwaukee has done this postseason.
Hitting-wise, this series should be fairly equal between the Brewers’ depth and the Rays’ recent hot streak.
While the Brewers have strong pitching, the Rays’ duo could be Cash’s trump card as they prepare to do battle on the diamond in Game 1.
Game 1 of the World Series is expected to feature Nick Martinez of the Rays against Misiorowski of the Brewers. Milwaukee could easily take it, but the subsequent games will turn in the Rays’ favor if their pitching comes through as expected.
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