The Brewers get the first crack at home-field advantage when the 2026 World Series opens Friday night in Milwaukee, and the betting board has them installed as the favorite for Game 1 against the Rays.
This matchup comes with very different preparation windows. Milwaukee has had a full week off after finishing off a sweep in Los Angeles on Thursday the 15th, giving the Brewers time to line up their pitching however they want for the series.
Tampa Bay, meanwhile, is working with only three days of rest after erasing a 2-1 deficit in the ALCS against the Guardians. Even so, the Rays are expected to have most of their arms available when the first pitch is thrown Friday, Oct.
There’s also a familiar wrinkle here: the Brewers already took two of three from the Rays at home earlier in the season.
On the mound, Tampa Bay is set to turn to Drew Rasmussen, who will be on regular rest after starting Game 5 of the ALCS. Rasmussen has been sharp throughout the postseason, posting three quality starts, 23 strikeouts and only three walks over 21 innings. He also has a solid memory to lean on from this matchup, having given up two runs, one earned, on three hits with one walk in five innings against Milwaukee on April 1.
Milwaukee’s Game 1 answer is Jacob Misiorowski, and the Brewers will hope the postseason version of him looks a little different from what the stat line has shown so far. In two playoff starts, he hasn’t made it through the fifth inning, though Milwaukee won both games anyway.
He’s given up three runs on nine hits with 11 strikeouts and four walks in 8.1 innings. Against the Rays on April 1, the NL Cy Young favorite allowed two runs on four hits with seven strikeouts and two walks over six innings in that rubber match.
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
In Other News...
Uecker Family Sends Emotional Message As Brewers Chase History
As the Brewers move within reach of their first World Series trip in 44 years, Bob Ueckers family offered Milwaukee a message that fit the moment: pride, gratitude and a reminder of how much the team still means to the city. The familys note honored Ueckers deep connection to the Brewers and to Milwaukee, while also recognizing the players, coaching staff, broadcast team and fans who have carried the run this far.
The message also served as a call for everyone around the team to stay locked together as the stakes keep rising. In a city that long associated Uecker with Brewers baseball, the family framed the chase as something bigger than a postseason push, asking supporters to keep rallying behind the club as history comes into view. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Face One Massive Woodruff Decision Before The World Series
Brandon Woodruff took another meaningful step in his comeback from a shoulder injury when he faced Brewers hitters in a live batting practice session ahead of the World Series. Milwaukee has been building him back carefully since he last pitched in early July, and the next checkpoint is a big one: the club has to decide whether he is ready to be part of the roster it submits before the series begins.
The session gave the Brewers a better feel for where Woodruff stands after a gradual increase in throwing workload, and the evaluation now shifts from recovery mode to roster calculation. For a team that would love to have one more established arm available this time of year, the decision carries obvious weight, but the final call is still waiting to be made. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Have One Big Reason For Hope Against The Rays
The Brewers are headed into their first World Series since 1982, and the matchup with the Rays comes with a little built-in familiarity. The two clubs saw each other in a three-game regular-season series early in the year, and Milwaukee took two of those games, giving the Brewers at least one clean point of reference before the biggest stage in the sport.
Even so, a lot has changed since then, from the way both rosters have settled in to the questions that now loom over the pitching plans on both sides. The series figures to turn on the same elements that shaped that early matchup, especially starting pitching and power, but Milwaukee's biggest edge may come down to how its rotation lines up once the games start and whether the Brewers can make that old formula work again. [Read more 🡒]