The 2026 World Series matchup is set and the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays will open the Fall Classic at American Family Field on Friday night. The Brewers, fresh off an NLCS sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers, have been resting up since Thursday. The Rays, meanwhile, took six games to take down the Cleveland Guardians and will only have three days off before Game 1.
This is a meeting of the two No. 1 seeds in baseball, owners of the best regular-season records in their respective leagues, which happens less often than you'd think in MLB; this is only the sixth time in the Wild Card Era. It's also two franchises that have never won a World Series, meaning we're guaranteed a first-time champion regardless of the outcome.
That outcome, you ask? It'll be the end of a hard-fought battle between two similar teams, built around strong pitching (Jacob Misiorowski and Drew Rasmussen, among them) and small ball. The Brewers have more depth in the lineup; the Rays have more power. Milwaukee has a better bullpen.
Who wins is up to the players and kind of the managers, depending on who you ask. As for your CBS Sports MLB experts, the best we can do is predict the results.
2026 World Series predictions
Mike Axisa 
Kate Feldman 
Julian McWilliams 
Dayn Perry 
Matt Snyder
Brewers 
Rays Brewers Brewers Brewers Mike Axisa: I am very much looking forward to this series. I love the style these two teams play. Lots of contact, lots of stolen bases, some power throughout both lineups. Also great pitching. I think the Brewers are just a tiny bit better though, and maybe more than a tiny bit better if Jacob Misiorowski looks like regular-season Misiorowski and not the guy who labored in the NLDS and NLCS. Milwaukee has more depth through the bottom of the lineup and certainly in the bullpen. That's the separator for me. It's been a struggle for Rays manager Kevin Cash to bridge the gap between starter and closer Bryan Baker this postseason. Brewers manager Pat Murphy is loaded with high-end bullpen options. Pick: Brewers in 6
Kate Feldman: So many people are focused on this World Series missing out on the big-name teams, either as a criticism (or defense) of the salary cap or simply because they're Yankees fans, but this is going to be an incredible series. These are the two best teams in baseball and they play a really, really fun game. This is not -- NOT -- anti-home run, but small ball is way more exciting when it's triples and stolen bases like it is with both of these teams rather than sacrifice flies. You're really telling me you don't enjoy watching Chandler Simpson cause chaos on the basepaths? Anyway, I think these two are pretty close to evenly matched and I think the Rays heating up late in the ALCS is going to give them a slight upper hand. But only slight. This is going to be thrilling. Pick: Rays in 7
Julian McWilliams: Similar to how I viewed the Guardians against Tampa Bay, I just think Milwaukee is the better overall team. They won 103 games, got through the Dodgers, and have shown all season why they belong on this stage. I respect what the Rays have done, and they're good enough to take a couple games. But when I look at these two teams top to bottom, I trust Milwaukee more. Pick: Brewers in 6
Dayn Perry: The Brewers are the better team overall but not by a huge margin, as the Rays are of course the top seed on the AL side. I expect the abundance of rest will help Jacob Misiorowski, who hasn't quite been his usual dominant self in recent starts. That would be a huge boon to Milwaukee's hopes, as they're thin in the rotation right now. The biggest difference for me is the quality of the bullpens. This is a big edge for the Brewers, and I think it'll make the difference in what's going to be a thriller of a series. Pick: Brewers in 7
Matt Snyder: I know that there will be plenty of talk about salaries and markets here, but these are two heavyweights and I'm expecting a lot of back-and-forth uppercuts. Just look at the LCS. The Brewers came from behind every game. The Rays' power started to show up late in the ALCS, and how about the timely insurance home runs from Junior Caminero and Yandy Díaz?? We're in for some great pitching matchups, too, with Drew Rasmussen, Freddy Peralta (did you hear he's a former Brewer?), Nick Martinez, Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson. Anyway, it comes down to this for me: The Brewers have been the best team in baseball all season. It's as simple as that. Pick: Brewers in 7
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