Only one pennant winner since 1995 stole more bases than either of them. Game 1 is Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern on FOX.
By Sports Unc ·
Expect the bases to be busy. The Rays tied for second in the majors with 164 stolen bases this season and the Brewers ranked fifth with 162, MLB.com notes, and both have kept running in October: Tampa Bay is 11 for 11 on steals in nine playoff games, and Milwaukee 10 for 12 in eight.
Among pennant winners since the Wild Card era began in 1995, only the 2023 Diamondbacks, with 166, stole more in the regular season than these two teams. And it is only the fourth World Series since divisional play began in 1969 to feature two of that season's top five base-stealing teams, and the first since 2008.
Game 1 is Friday, October 23, at 8 p.m. Eastern on FOX, with Drew Rasmussen expected to start for the Rays against Jacob Misiorowski. Neither franchise has won a World Series.
The World Series opens Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern on FOX. It is the first Fall Classic between two franchises without a title since 1980.
By Sports Unc ·
Whoever wins this World Series wins it for the first time. The Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers are two of the five current franchises that have never won a title, with the Mariners, Padres and Rockies, and it is the first World Series between two such teams since the Phillies beat the Royals in 1980, MLB.com notes.
They are also the two best teams of the regular season. The Brewers won a franchise-record 103 games and the Rays 98, the best records in their leagues. The Rays won the ALCS in six games, which let them line up their rotation.
Game 1 is Friday, October 23, at 8 p.m. Eastern on FOX and FOX Deportes, streaming on FOX One. MLB.com expects right-hander Drew Rasmussen to start for Tampa Bay, 11-0 with a 1.73 ERA in 15 starts since the All-Star break, against the team that drafted him and traded him away. Milwaukee starts Jacob Misiorowski, who led the majors in ERA at 1.80 and strikeouts with 252, and whose first pitch of the NLDS was clocked at 104.8 mph, the fastest postseason pitch in the tracking era.
It is also the first World Series played with the automated ball-strike challenge system. Neither team leaned on it much in the regular season: on the hitting side, Milwaukee and Tampa Bay gained the least value from challenges of any teams, according to MLB.com's analysis.
The Angels declined their option on manager Kurt Suzuki after one season and will seek a new manager and coaching staff for 2027, MLB.com reports; general manager John Mozeliak said the team's record was not a true reflection of Suzuki's abilities and offered him a role as a special assistant. Suzuki, 43, the first Hawaiian-born manager in the majors, played his last two seasons as a catcher with the Angels. Mozeliak's own contract is up in December.