The Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers open the 2026 World Series on Friday in refreshing fashion, with each franchise chasing its first championship.

Regardless of who is crowned champion at the conclusion of this best-of-seven series, baseball will have four organizations remaining who have never won a World Series.

After getting swept by the back-to-back defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2025 NLCS, Milwaukee returned the favour and stopped the quest for the three-peat in its tracks, sweeping the Dodgers to reach the Fall Classic.

Tampa Bay, meanwhile, won three straight games after falling behind 2-1 against Cleveland.

The Brewers are -190 favourites to win Game 1 on the MLB odds, while the total is set at 6.5.

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Milwaukee finished the regular season with a 45-30 record against teams above .500 and went 55-26 at home. The Rays were just okay on the road in the regular season, finishing 43-38.

The Brewers posted a league-best .341 on-base percentage and scored 788 runs batted in, second-most in MLB.

Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays can challenge Milwaukee without matching its run production inning for inning. Tampa Bay hit .259 during the regular season, tied for the best average in the majors, finished fifth in baseball in weighted runs created plus (wRC+) at 104 and its 169 home runs exceeded Milwaukee’s total of 154. The Rays’ .728 OPS trailed the Brewers’ .743.

Their biggest concern is getting enough help from the supporting cast. Junior Caminero has posted a 127 wRC+ in the postseason and Yandy Díaz a 151, but the production has dropped sharply after those two. Chandler Simpson’s 64 wRC+ and Liam Hicks’ 62 show how much the supporting hitters have struggled.

Milwaukee Brewers

Milwaukee’s lineup is built to punish mistakes by spraying line drives to all fields. The Brewers finished third in wRC+ at 107, and then they flipped the script on the Dodgers in the NLCS, blasting seven home runs in four games.

NLCS MVP Jake Bauers felt like an impossible out for the Dodgers, while Brice Turang, Garrett Mitchell and David Hamilton consistently came up clutch.

However, concerns loom over likely NL Cy Young Jacob Misiorowski heading into Game 1. After an elite 1.80 ERA and 2.17 FIP in the regular season, Misiorowski’s whiff rate fell from 37.3 per cent to 22 per cent against San Diego and 24 per cent against Los Angeles in his two postseason starts. He managed only 8.1 innings across those outings and has yet to pitch beyond the fifth. Milwaukee won both games, but the Rays’ scrappy mentality, similar to the Brewers, will look to extend at-bats and force him to work from the stretch.

The Brewers’ bullpen has been excellent, so getting Misiorowski out early does not guarantee Tampa Bay will take control. Still, making Milwaukee use its relief corps sooner than planned could help the Rays manufacture enough offence to keep pace.

MLB Prediction: Who Will Win Rays vs. Brewers?

I believe the Brewers are a better version of the Rays with a deeper, more reliable bullpen. And as the series goes on and hitters get more chances against the same arms, I trust the Brewers to wear Tampa Bay down. But this is one game, and it’s the first game, and Rays manager Kevin Cash has been here before.

Rays starting pitcher, Drew Rasmussen (three earned runs over 21 playoff innings), gives Tampa Bay a real shot at keeping this one close or even winning outright.

The -169 price on Tampa Bay +1.5 is not cheap, but it is equivalent to the Brewers moneyline value and covers a one-run loss in a matchup where the starting pitching could keep the margin narrow.

Best bet: Rays +1.5 (-169)

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