Rays vs. Brewers World Series preview: Who has the edge in matchup of MLB's 2 best teams?

Since the MLB postseason began on Sept. 29, 12 teams have played 35 games to get to this point. Just two teams remain in the field.

It's the top-seeded, 98-win Tampa Bay Rays against the top-seeded, 103-win Milwaukee Brewers in the World Series. Neither team has ever won a title. Game 1 begins at 8 p.m. ET Friday in Milwaukee.

Here's everything you need to know about the matchup.

Rays: The owner of the best record in the American League this season, Tampa Bay goes about it with a fascinating combination of stars, contact-heavy role players and magnificent defense. Their offensive top three of Junior Caminero, Yandy Díaz and Jonathan Aranda has been a force to be reckoned with all season, with the bottom of the lineup stepping up just enough so far this postseason. The Rays cleanly dispatched the Yankees in an ALDS sweep before charging back from down 2-1 to win three straight ALCS games against a pesky Guardians team .

Brewers: The Brewers have arrived in the 2026 World Series as the most dominant team this postseason. They finished the regular season with an MLB-best 103 wins and have continued to show that was no fluke, losing just one game so far this October. Milwaukee took down the San Diego Padres in a series that showcased their resilience against a star-studded lineup and their tenacity against one of baseball's best bullpens.

But it was their NLCS rematch against the back-to-back World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers that showed everyone that these aren't the same ol' Brewers. Milwaukee dominated the Dodgers across four games, not only beating them but sweeping them . After becoming the first team in MLB history to sweep a team that swept them the previous postseason, the Brewers are not messing around as they seek the franchise's first World Series title.

Catcher: Liam Hicks (TB) vs. William Contreras (MIL)

It's Contreras, but it's closer than you think. Hicks has been one of the most impactful bats moved at the trade deadline, posting a .774 OPS for the Rays down the stretch and into October. He has been particularly potent against righties (.840 OPS) and, most importantly, has done a great job behind the dish handling the Rays' pitching staff. Hicks' third-inning ABS challenge in ALCS Game 6 was an under-the-radar game-changer in Tampa Bay's pennant-clinching win.

Still, Contreras gets the edge because, well, he has been the best hitter in this postseason. Among players who reached the LCS, Contreras' 1.157 OPS ranks first. His defensive work can be a bit volatile at times, but the offensive impact is downright undeniable. Scared of the big moment? No, the big moment is scared of him.

First base: Jonathan Aranda (TB) vs. Jake Bauers (MIL)

Aranda, the least famous member of Tampa's big three alongside Yandy Díaz and Junior Caminero, has generally stepped up during the Rays' October run. Eight singles, a homer, a walk and three HBPs are nothing to sneeze at.

But there's no way to pick against Bauers, the NLCS MVP and this postseason's breakout star. His deep-count battles against Dodgers pitching were instrumental in Milwaukee's crisp dispatching of the two-time defending champs. And Bauers' hot postseason is simply a continuation of his phenomenal regular season. He was the best hitter on baseball's best team this year; no reason to make it more complicated than that.

Second base: Richie Palacios/Ben Williamson (TB) vs. Brice Turang (MIL)

Ask a Milwaukee front-office character who the club's best player is right now, and chances are they'll say Turang. The 26-year-old is a wonderful sum-of-the-parts character, a sensational defender with a well-rounded offensive game. His freakish opposite-field homer off Tarik Skubal in NLCS Game 1 got the party started for the Brewers, but don't forget about the defensive gem he unleashed on the very first play of that game. Turang isn't your prototypical danger man, but he's a magnificent player capable of impacting things in a number of ways.

Palacios, who came up huge in ALCS Game 6 , starts against righties, while Williamson, more of a glove-first type, hops in for southpaws.

Shortstop: Taylor Walls (TB) vs. Cooper Pratt (MIL)

Still just 22 years old, Pratt, the soda-chugging rookie, has impressed this October with a barrage of singles and a howitzer right arm. The ease with which he uncorks throws from deep in the hole could one day earn him a Gold Glove.

Walls, however, is already the best defensive shortstop in the sport. Defensive metrics disagree somewhat on his value, but ask any team official for a peek at their internal data, and Walls will almost certainly be at the top of the leaderboard. He has a preternatural feel for batted-ball direction, spin and velocity as it relates to a given pitch, meaning he's often in the correct position or moving in the correct direction before contact. Offensively, Walls is just pesky enough to be useful. Typically, nothing good happens when he swings, but he can draw a walk, lay down a bunt and move a runner over. That's just a bonus because his glove is a legitimate game-changer.

Third base: Junior Caminero (TB) vs. David Hamilton/Joey Ortiz (MIL)

Caminero and Hamilton, who starts against righty arms, are currently tied with one playoff home run apiece. Things were a bit more unbalanced during the regular season: Caminero cranked 38 more taters than the light-hitting Hamilton.

Game 6 homer aside , Caminero hasn't exactly taken the world by storm this October. He entered the clincher 7-for-30 with just two RBI, three extra-base knocks and no big flies. That's a terrifying proposition for the Brewers — the idea that Caminero is still waiting to erupt. But don't get it twisted: This is his team, his moment, his stage. He wants to be the guy and is certainly wired right and talented enough to deliver another magical moment or three.

Left field: Chandler Simpson/Ryan Vilade (TB) vs. Jackson Chourio (MIL)

Simpson's slash-and-dash approach is the only one of its kind in baseball right now, making him perhaps the most entertaining at-bat in this entire World Series. Any ball hit on the ground is a potential single. Any single is a potential stolen base. And if Simpson is standing on second, he's a guaranteed run on anything to the outfield. Vilade is the opposite style of player; he's on the roster to mash left-handed pitching, and that's really it.

But Chourio, still just 22, wins any showdown, even though he's coming off a sneaky subpar NLCS. He's hitting a cool .171/.211/.343 in October, but most of his knocks have been extremely timely. Chourio's backside bomb off Blake Snell on the first pitch of NLCS Game 3 was as big of a crowd silencer as we've seen in a while. This guy has teetered on the precipice of stardom for a while; this series could push him over the edge and into the larger American sporting consciousness.

Center field: Jonny DeLuca (TB) vs. Garrett Mitchell (MIL)

Two of the game's more impressive athletes, DeLuca and Mitchell can absolutely run it down in center. But while DeLuca hit 11 homers in the regular season, his offensive game is a lot more dink and dunk, while Mitchell, as he showed in the NLCS , has real thump in his bat. A barrage of injuries over the past few seasons prevented Mitchell from breaking through into regular playing time. Now finally healthy, he's making the best of his mountain of talent.

Right field: Victor Mesa Jr. (TB) vs. Sal Frelick/Luis Lara (MIL)

This one is a toss-up. Offensively, none of these three has been particularly integral thus far in October. Mesa had a huge homer in NLDS Game 3 against New York, and Frelick's three singles and four walks have helped keep the line moving for Milwaukee, but generally, these are secondary lineup pieces. Out in the grass, however, Mesa, Frelick and Lara have all been key characters. Mesa's right arm is a weapon; anytime he gears up to uncork one, runners stop dead in their tracks. Lara and Frelick, meanwhile, are center fielders playing right field.

Designated hitter: Yandy Díaz (TB) vs. Christian Yelich/Andrew Vaughn (MIL)

Díaz's eighth-inning bomb in ALCS Game 6 provided perhaps the most celebratory and cathartic moment in Rays franchise history. But even though he is built like a bodybuilder, his game is built more on smoking the ball to all parts of the field than on lofting it over walls. Still, he's dang good at that schtick; nobody in these playoffs has collected more base hits than Tampa Bay's muscled-up DH.

Brewers skipper Pat Murphy's decision to sit Yelich twice against left-handed starters in the NLCS speaks volumes about what type of hitter Milwaukee's captain is at this point in his career. That's not a knock on Yelich; he has remained relatively productive against righties despite a laundry list of injuries and has delivered a few big knocks so far in October. Murphy's move also says a lot about Vaughn, a former top pick who has revitalized his career in Milwaukee. He obliterates lefties, but with Tampa Bay's righty-heavy staff, Vaughn probably won't get a start in this World Series. Will the game find him for a big showdown in the later innings?

Rotation: Drew Rasmussen/Freddy Peralta/Nick Martinez/Griffin Jax (TB) vs. Jacob Misiorowski/Logan Henderson/Robert Gasser/bullpen extravaganza (MIL)

Milwaukee has the NL Cy Young favorite, but Tampa Bay has the superior starting staff. In fact, Misiorowski, for all this triple-digit majesty, underwhelmed in both of his postseason starts . He kept scoring to a minimum but failed to finish five innings against both San Diego and Tampa Bay. Not exactly ace behavior. Rasmussen, meanwhile, worked eight, six and seven innings in his three postseason outings, surrendering three total runs across those 21 frames. The two probably won't face off in Game 1, with Rasmussen having pitched Sunday in ALCS Game 3, making World Series Game 2 the likelier option for him.

If that's the case, the Rays will send Nick Martinez to the mound opposite Misiorowski, which would make for a wonderful stylistic juxtaposition. The veteran righty has emerged as perhaps the most crucial character in Tampa Bay's clubhouse, but he's also enjoying a career year in his age-35 season. He covered 180 regular-season innings with a 3.10 ERA and made the All-Star team thanks to elite control and a sinker-heavy, high-groundball approach. ALCS MVP Freddy Peralta should get the rock in Game 3. After a disastrous first few months with the Mets following a trade from Milwaukee last winter, Peralta latched on with Tampa Bay at the deadline. At the time, the Rays got some love for adding Peralta, but nobody expected him to rediscover himself to this extent. He has allowed two runs over 16 ⅔ innings this postseason.

After Misiorowski, Milwaukee's rotation turns to Henderson, whom the Brewers refused to part with at the deadline in talks regarding Tarik Skubal. The 24-year-old Texan pitched well in his Game 2 start against Los Angeles, but two throwing errors on balls to first derailed his evening and left four runs (two earned) on his ledger. A few more deep breaths, and Henderson might have pitched deep into that evening. Gasser looked outstanding in Game 3 at Dodger Stadium, almost certainly earning him a World Series start. Game 4 will be a bullpen affair for the Brewers featuring a combo of Dustin May, Shane Drohan and Chad Patrick.

Bullpen: Bryan Baker/Kevin Kelly/Cam Booser/Tyler Wells (TB) vs. Trevor Megill/Abner Uribe/Aaron Ashby/DL Hall (MIL)

Brewers take the edge here. Their bullpen has allowed just six earned runs over 40 ⅔ innings of postseason work, with 38 strikeouts to boot. Trim that group down to the top four of Megill, Uribe, Ashby and Hall, and the numbers are even more impressive: 0.61 ERA in 29 ⅔ frames. Tampa Bay closer Bryan Baker has been absolutely dynamite in the ninth, but the road to him has been shaky at times. Booser, Wells and Kelly have shown well, but Ian Seymour coming undone in the ALCS clincher portends poorly for Tampa. Their secret weapon? Rookie Brody Hopkins has just six MLB outings under his belt but has some of the nastiest stuff on the planet. He has yet to feature, but could provide one of the more electric moments of this Fall Classic.

The matchup of managers is an intriguing one between the Rays' Kevin Cash and the Brewers' Pat Murphy. If there's an edge between the two, it comes from their experience. Cash is not only baseball's longest tenured manager but also has managed the Rays in the World Series before (in 2020). Known for his quick thinking and in-game strategy, even if it's sometimes to the chagrin of the public, he's never going to be surprised.

On the other side, Murphy has quickly become one of the best managers in baseball, having won manager of the year in his two prior seasons at the helm and likely to be a finalist again this year. So far in October, Murphy has outmanaged Padres skipper Craig Stammen and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. He'll find the matchup he's looking for and has shown he's not afraid to pivot if something isn't working. Murphy will have another tough challenge ahead of him strategizing against Cash.

Rays: The Rays' starting rotation should keep them in ballgames; that much feels bankable. But for Tampa to top the hard-charging Brew Crew, they'll need their big three to carry the day. Díaz needs to stay hot, and Aranda and Caminero have to turn the dial up further. Milwaukee's deep, talented pitching staff should be capable of shutting down the bottom of Tampa's lineup. The burden, then, falls on the top trio to grab the spotlight and make magic happen.

Brewers: So far in this postseason, the Brewers have executed well on their recipe for success. Offensively, it's using their speed and ability to grind at-bats to wear teams down and tack on runs. On the mound, it's getting the ball to their electric bullpen and shortening games. Both have been extremely successful in October. Milwaukee has been hot offensively, and in this World Series, they'll need their offense, led by William Contreras and Jake Bauers, to continue to produce, as the Rays' starting staff is arguably the best they've seen this postseason.

But if the Brewers hope to win their first World Series, they'll need the best out of superstar fireballer Jacob Misiorowski. It's hard to believe the Brewers are four wins away from winning the World Series and "The Miz" hasn't completed five innings in a start this postseason. That will have to change if his team is going to hoist the trophy.

Rays: If the Brewers continue playing like they have so far this postseason, this will be an uphill battle for the Rays. Tampa Bay is a talented, well-built club with an underrated starting staff, three stellar hitters and a phenomenal defensive unit. But Milwaukee has them beat in terms of raw baseballing talent. If the Brewers' relentless offensive approach breaks through the bridge to Bryan Baker, Tampa could be in for a few late-inning messes and a decidedly short series.

Brewers: If things go wrong for the Brewers in this World Series, it will be because their starting pitching and bullpen falter. Neither Misiorowski nor rookie right-hander Logan Henderson has pitched well this postseason, and that lack of innings has forced Milwaukee to go to the bullpen a lot. While the relief crew has been successful thus far, as we've seen with the Padres, Guardians and Dodgers, even the strongest bullpens wear down due to overuse. If Milwaukee can't get at least 15 outs from Misiorowski and Henderson in each of their starts, by the end of the World Series, the Brewers' mighty bullpen will be a shell of itself. And while the Brewers' offense has been the best of any team this postseason, running into the red-hot duo of Drew Rasmussen and Freddy Peralta could be the thing that slows Milwaukee down.

Brewers in 5: The Brewers were trailing, at one point or another, against a two-time defending champion in all four of their NLCS victories. By that, they appeared entirely unperturbed. That relentlessness, that undauntedness, that short memory, that sheer sense of self-belief, gives Milwaukee the definitive edge. Their roster also happens to be better. — Mintz

Brewers in 6: Rarely in baseball do we get a World Series between two organizations that mirror each other, but when you look at the Brewers and Rays, it's hard to ignore the similarities. Speed, athleticism, elite pitching and a surprising amount of power are hallmarks of both teams. Still, one team seems to have a little extra motivation.

The Brewers are rolling, and nearly every area of their roster is clicking. The only one that hasn't been is their starting pitching, and to this point, that hasn't mattered. After back-to-back mediocre outings from the likely NL Cy Young, the law of averages would say a dominant performance is on the horizon.

The Rays are a worthy opponent for Milwaukee, and when the two best teams in the sport meet, we should expect a back-and-forth affair. But this Milwaukee team has shown it will not be denied, and it's hard to see that changing in this World Series. — Dorsey