The Rays’ path to a World Series upset may start with one clear objective: make Jacob Misiorowski labor early.
Milwaukee enters the 2026 MLB World Series after sweeping the reigning champions in four games in the NLCS, and the Brewers have the edge on paper. They’ve got home-field advantage, too, which only tightens the squeeze on Tampa Bay. Still, ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez sees a route for the Rays if they can attack the one area that looks least sturdy: the Brewers’ starting rotation.
“To beat the Brewers, you have to take advantage of their starting rotation,” Gonzalez writes. “It begins with running up the pitch counts of their two front-line starters, Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson.”
That’s the blueprint. If the Rays can force Misiorowski and Henderson into short outings, they can push Milwaukee into a bullpen that Gonzalez describes as top-heavy. And once the Brewers have to dig deeper into that relief corps, the middle innings become a lot more interesting for Tampa Bay.
The opportunity matters even more because of how the series is set up. In Games 3 and 4, Milwaukee is expected to lean more heavily on the bullpen, with starters Dustin May, Shane Drohan, and Robert Gasser set to be involved. So if the Rays can get into the bullpen early in Games 1 and 2, they could shape the rest of the series to their liking.
Gonzalez put it plainly: “scoring early will be a must for the Rays.”
That doesn’t mean Tampa Bay has to dominate Misiorowski and Henderson from the first pitch to win the series. But if the Rays can force those pitch counts up and chase either starter before he settles in, the pressure shifts fast. The Brewers’ bullpen gets taxed, the games get shorter for their top arms, and the road only gets harder from there.
For the Rays, the opening two games could tell the whole story. If their offense can get to Misiorowski and Henderson early, they may put themselves in position to turn this World Series into a much more manageable fight once the scene shifts to Tampa Bay.
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