Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers face off in first-ever World Series meeting

The 2026 World Series begins with Game 1 on Friday, guaranteeing that a first-time champion will be crowned as the top two seeds from each league meet. Neither the Tampa Bay Rays nor the Milwaukee Brewers have won the Fall Classic before. Tampa finished the regular season with a 98-64 record, sweeping the Yankees in the ALDS before defeating Cleveland in six games in the ALCS. Meanwhile, the Brewers defeated the Padres in four games in the NLDS and ended the Dodgers' three-peat bid by sweeping Los Angeles in the NLCS. Jacob Misiorowski, who holds a 16-5 record and a 1.80 ERA, will start on the mound for Milwaukee. Tampa Bay will counter with Nick Martinez, who enters the game with a 15-6 record and a 3.10 ERA. First pitch is scheduled for 8 p.m. Eastern Time at American Family Field in Milwaukee. Milwaukee opens as a -179 favorite on the money line, while Tampa Bay sits at +155. The over/under for total runs is set at 6.5. SportsLine MLB expert Eric Cohen, who holds a 58-28 run on money-line picks and a 6-1 streak on Tampa games, is leaning toward the Over for Game 1. Cohen points out concerns about Misiorowski going too deep into the game alongside the Brewers' past success against Martinez, projecting a total of eight runs.

Context

The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada, bringing together the best teams from the American League and National League. Matchups between two franchises that have never won the title before are rare and draw intense national interest. Teams reach this stage through multiple rounds of playoff elimination after a gruelling 162-game regular season.