WS5: Brewers 4, Rays 1 (Brewers Win World Series)

Brewers - 010 012 000 - 4  8  2
Rays    - 000 000 001 - 1  4  0

The Milwaukee Brewers won their first World Series title Wednesday night by once again dominating the Tampa Bay Rays. Jacob Misiorowski (5.2-2-0-1-2, 86) and the stingy Brewers bullpen limited the Rays to two singles through 8.1 innings in Game 5. It was the bottom of Milwaukee's lineup that powered the offense in a 4-1 victory.

Misiorowski never allowed the Rays to even imagine a vision of a rally before being forced out of the game in the sixth inning because of a leg cramp. JoJo Romero and Abner Uribe continued the shutout pitching, as did Trevor Megill in the eighth. The corpse of the Rays made one final gasp – two doubles in the ninth saved them from a shutout, a repeat of their brief flash of life in the Game 3  blowout – before expiring for good.

The bottom five hitters went 6-for-17, knocking in three of the four runs. By contrast, the top four Brewers were 2-for-15.

William Contreras was named Most Valuable Player of the World Series. He caught every inning of the postseason and was rock solid behind the plate; he doubled in a run and scored in the sixth, as Milwaukee iced the game with two runs. Contreras went 8-for-21 in the series (.381) and drove in four runs. In the three playoff rounds, he hit .373 (19-for-51). Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras, William's older brother, was at the game. They are the 10th pair of brothers to have both played for a World Series winner; Willson played for the 2016 Cubs.

When Commissioner Rob Manfred presented the "Piece of Metal" to the Brewers, he was booed by the remaining fans at the Trop.

An unrecognized benefit of living in Canada: I was spared the hectoring voice of The Man Who Never Shuts His Yap who smoltzplained to Fox viewers earlier in the series that Contreras was a very bad man for challenging so many incorrect calls. Let the plate umpire blow some calls in peace, the close-minded Smoltz insisted. He faulted Contreras for challening a call with Milwaukee up 2-0 in the third inning. A two-run lead in the THIRD inning of a fuckin World Series game?!? What an absolute clown. A substantial social media backlash apparently forced Smoltz, a far-right conservative who has compared same-sex marriage to marrying animals, to "rethink" his position.

Contreras challenged 13 questionable calls during the World Series and had 10 of them overturned (77%). In the NLCS, he was 8-for-11 (73%), and was 5-for-11 in the NLDS. Overall, Contreras had the blown call corrected in 23 of 35 challenges (66%).

The Brewers had perhaps four other players who had an MVP-like series:

Jackson Chourio: 11-24 (.458), 1.000 OPS; tied Babe Ruth for the most hits (10) in the first four games of a WS.

Cooper Pratt: 8-for-19 (.421/.455/.684), 7 RBI, 1.139 OPS. Six straight hits in Games 4-5 set a WS record for a rookie.

Misiorowski: 10.2 innings, 1 run allowed; 5.2 scoreless innings in clinching Game 5.

Aaron Ashby: Pitched a postseason record 18 scoreless innings (nine games), including 5.2 shutout innings in three WS games.

Ashby and Uribe combined for 11 scoreless WS innings. The quartet of Ashby, Uribe, Romero, and DL Hall combined for 17 shutout innings against the Rays, allowing only six hits and one walk, while striking out 17.

The basic batting and pitching stats for both teams show stark differences.

           AVG   OBP   SLG   OPS  1B  2B  3B  HR  TB      SB
Brewers   .280  .350  .396  .745  37  10   1   3  72   9-for-11
Rays      .182  .224  .242  .467  22  14   0   1  40   5-for- 9

            IP    H    R   BB    K     ERA     WHIP
Brewers     47   30   12    7   40    1.91    0.787
Rays        46   51   25   17   39    4.89    1.478

The Brewers asserted themselves in the second inning against Drew Rasmussen (4-2-1-0-4, 48). Brice Turang drove a 1-1 changeup to the opposite field (left-center) for a double. Sal Frelick was hit with an 0-1 pitch on his left (back) arm, which seemed to bother him for several innings afterward. Cooper Pratt, who hit safely in his final four at-bats in Game 4, wasted no time in cracking the first-pitch into right-center. Turang scored, Frelick went to third, and Pratt, perhaps thinking the throw from the outfield was going to go through to third, was halfway to second when he realized the throw had been cut off. He was out in an 8-5-4-3-6 rundown.

For the 2026 postseason, teams that scored 4+ runs were 27-5. 

The Brewers finished the three rounds of playoffs with an 11-2 record, nine of those games coming against the two-time defending champions (who won 102 games, one fewer than Milwaukee) and the American league leaderin wins (94). Most impressive was the fact that the Brewers trailed in x games and won x of them, including all four NLCS games and WS Game 2.

Misiorowski gave up a hard opposite-field single to Junior Caminero with two down in the first. He retired the next six Rays before walking Yandy Diaz in the third, again with two outs. In the fourth, Liam Hicks stood still while his back/left foot was hit by a low inside pitch.

Batters must make an effort to avoid getting hit by a pitched ball. If they do not, they should be denied first base – but that rule is never enforced. I'd love to see a pitcher argue and actually cite the rule to the umpire, in effect daring him to admit he's not following the rules of the game, but his batting teammates want free bases from HBPs, too, so we're unlikely to witness such a scene.

The rule in question is Rule 5.05 (When the Batter Becomes a Runner) (my emphasis):

(b)  The batter becomes a runner and is entitled to first base without liability to be put out (provided he advances to and touches first base) when: . . .

(2)  He is touched by a pitched ball which he is not attempting to hit unless (A) The ball is in the strike zone when it touches the batter, or (B) The batter makes no attempt to avoid being touched by the ball;

If the ball is in the strike zone when it touches the batter, it shall be called a strike, whether or not the batter tries to avoid the ball. If the ball is outside the strike zone when it touches the batter, it shall be called a ball if he makes no attempt to avoid being touched.

APPROVED RULING: When the batter is touched by a pitched ball which does not entitle him to first base, the ball is dead and no runner may advance.

Misiorowski got his first strikeout of the game on his 11th out, when he fanned DeLuca. Chandler Simpson lined a hard grounder past first and towards the right field corner. Frelick bobbled the ball for an error, putting Rays on second and third. Ben Williamson, the hero of Tampa Bay's 12th inning, game-winning rally in Game 4, chopped a ball to third. David Hamilton gloved it on the run but fired high to first. Jake Bauers stretched about as far as he could while keeping his foot on the bag and backhanded the near-errant throw while stradling the foul line.

Rays manager Kevin Cash was satisfied with four innings from Rasmussen and opted for his bullpen in the fifth. Rasmussen had thrown only 48 pitches and allowed one run, so I was surprised with what seemed like a quick hook of a pitcher doing his job in a must-win game (and who had been talked about only two weeks before as an underappreciated ace). I couldn't help remembering Cash inexplicably pulling a dominant Blake Snell in a must-win Game 6 against the Dodgers in the 2020 World Series. Snell had allowed only one hit through five innings, with nine strikeouts (including five of the first six Dodgers), and the Rays led 1-0. When Snell gave up a second hit (after retiring 10 in a row) with one out in the sixth, on his 73rd pitch, Cash immediately went to reliever Nick Anderson. Within eight pitches, the Dodgers had scored two runs; they became World Champs that night, thanks to a 3-1 win.

And so Kevin Kelly stood on the mound, facing the bottom of the Brewers' order. He got one out, but Pratt lined a single to left – his sixth straight hit – and Garrett Mitchell sliced an opposite field single to left, putting runners at first and third. The Rays brought the infield in, which backfired when Hamilton  shot a 1-1 pitch past second baseman Williamson, who dove to his right. Pratt scored and it was 2-0. In the span of only four batters, Kelly had given up more hits than Rasmussen had in 14 batters. Kelly got Jackson Chourio looking at strike three and then he was gone. Garrett Cleavinger ended the inning by fanning Bauers on an 80 mph sweeper.

An inning later, Cleavinger's first pitch in the sixth plunked Christian Yelich in the thigh. Contreras lined a double to the left field wall, increasing the lead to 3-0. Turang dumped a single near the line in left as Simpson appeared to pull up at the last moment and watch the ball drop. Contreras, thinking the ball might be caught by the speedy left fielder, stopped at third. And that was it for Cleavinger. He and Kelly had faced nine batters; six of them reached base and three of them would eventually score. Tyler Wells struck out Frelick before Pratt hit a long foul ball that right fielder Ryan Vilade caught on one of the bullpen mounds. Contreras tagged and scored; Turang had stolen second and he went to third. When Wells walked Mitchell, he was pulled for Stephen Matz, who got the final out, stranding two runners. Cash, after deciding Rasmussen had been pushed to his limit after 12 outs, needed four relief pitchers to get the next six outs. 

That was it for the Milwaukee bats for the night. Unfortunately for the Rays, their bats remained equally quiet.

With two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Misiorowski's first pitch to Hicks was fouled off – and there was something wrong with the Brewers' ace. The trainer came out and soon a whole gaggle of players were gathered on the mound. Misiorowski had a cramp in his right leg. After a drink of water and some chit-chat, he prepared to throw a practice pitch. He spent several seconds trying to properly set his right leg and foot into position, which did not bode well. Afer the pitch, he knew he couldn't continue. Clearly disappointed, he walked off the field to loud cheers from the sizeable population of Brewers fans in the stands. JoJo Romero needed but one pitch to get Hicks to ground to shortstop.

In the seventh, DeLuca struck out looking before Simpson hit a little dribbler in front of the plate. Contreras pounced on the ball but threw wildly to first for a two-base error. Uribe took over, his 11th appearance over 13 postseason games. He faced two pinch-hitters. Richie Palacois grounded out to first, with Uribe covering and Victor Mesa ended a nine-pitch battle by grounding to Turang at second.

Trevor Megill was in for the eighth and he set down the Rays in order on 10 pitches. Trevor Walls lined out to left (Chourio made a nice diving catch near the foul line), Diaz flied to the base of the wall in deep right, and Aranda could not check his swing on a high 1-2 fastball.

Ashby was assumed to be pitching the ninth, but it was Megill for a second inning. He got ahead of Caminero 0-2, threw a pitch in the dirt, and watched Caminero check his swing on ball 2. After fouling off a pitch, Caminero was frozen on a fastball just off the middle of the plate for strike three. Hicks got a double when his hard grounder hit the first base bag and caromed away from Bauers and into foul territory, where Frelick chased it down. DeLuca fouled off a low pitch, swing and missed a fastball above the zone, then took a fastball high and outside, before whiffing on a knuckle-curve in the dirt for the second out.

Simpson turned on an inside 1-1 fastball and lined a double to right. Hicks scored. Palacios took a fastball (99) down the heart of the plate for a strike. He looked at a fastball (100) high and a knuckle-curve (91) in the dirt. Megill threw an inside fastball (99), which Palacios knocked towards second. Turang, who had been impressive for the entire series, ranging far to both his right and left, gloved the  routine grounder and threw to first, igniting the Brewers' well-deserved celebration at 10:13 pm (Milwaukee Time).

I trust Ruth Wer  ning, a Brewers fan who will celebrate her 105th birthday next month, stayed up to watch the final out. She lives in a Milwaukee suburb and threw out the first pitch before a game in 2024.

WS4: Rays 4, Brewers 3 (12)

Brewers - 000 110 000 001 - 3  8  2
Rays    - 010 100 000 002 - 4  9  1

The Brewers made history on Tuesday night, though it was far from the history they would have chosen. They Brewers the first World Series team to be three outs away from a World Series championship and lose the game without getting recording any of those three outs.

After Cooper Pratt (who made his major league debut a little over six months ago), homered in the top of the twelfth, giving the Brewers a 4-3 lead. It was the first time a rookie has hit a home run in extra innings in the World Series. Milwaukee, having kept the Rays off the scoreboard since the fourth inning, was hopeful of securing the franchise's first WS title. 

Brewers third baseman Joey Ortiz committed a throwing error, allowing Junior Caminero to reach base to begin the bottom of the twelfth. Then reliever Shane Drohan, another rookie and the eighth Milwaukee pitcher of the night, came in and gave up four consecutive singles (Liam Hicks, Jonny DeLuca, Chandler Simpson, and pinch-hitter Ben Williamson (above pics)), three of which were grounded through the infield. The Rays scored two runs, won the game, and ensured that Game 5 will be played Wednesday night at the Trop.

It was a surprising end to a game in a series in which Milwaukee has dominated the Rays in all aspects of the game.

From 1903-2025, a World Series team won the first three games 25 times. Those 25 teams either swept the series (21 times) or lost Game 4 and won Game 5 (four times).

There have now been 14 consecutive World Series without a sweep, the longest stretch in baseball history. The last WS sweep was in 2012, when the Giants swept the Tigers.

The Brewers had a small but of a rally in the first, when Griffin Jax (4-4-2-2-6, 74) walked two batters, but those runners were left at first and third. The Rays got on the board first, in the bottom of the second. Dustin May (3-3-2-0-3, 39) gave up a leadoff single to Hicks, who was forced at second by DeLuca, who beat the relay throw. Simpson lined an 0-2 pitch into the right field corner for a double and a 1-0 lead.

Milwaukee tied the game two innings later. With two outs, Sam Frelick grounded a single into right field. Pratt (who went 4-for-5 in the game) doubled to left. But then the Rays, showing some life, immediately took the lead in the bottom of the frame. Caminero singled – and Jojo Romero relieved May. Hicks grounded to first, moving the runner to second. DeLuca grounded to third and David Hamilton of the Brewers unwisely tried tagging Caminero with the ball in his hand as he ran from second to third. Caminero dodged the tag and then Hamilton threw wildly to first for an error, which allowed Caminero to score. Then, as these things often happen, Hamilton homered to deep right-center to lead off the top of the fifth (on an 0-2 pitch!), instantly atoning for his fielding blunders, and re-tying the game at 2-2.

At which point, both lineups took a long nap – and 13 scoreless half-innings passed until the eventful 12th inning. In that time, the Rays had three baserunners, one of which reached second. The Brewers also had three men on base, but two reached base with twoouts and were stranded and one was thrown out trying to steal.

The caught stealing came on a controversial video review that went against the Brewers in the top of the ninth. With two outs, Pratt was on first and took off for second on an 0-1 pitch to pinch-hitter Antonio Vaughn. Pratt easily beat the tag by second baseman Palacois, but it was unclear whether Pratt's left hand/wrist had brushed against Palacois' glove as the fielder was catching the ball. Pratt was initially called safe but Tampa challenged the call. All of the replay angles except one (maybe) were useless in seeing if there had been any hint of contact. I was leaning towards no contact; there certainly wasn't enough evidence to overturn the call – but the call was overturned and Pratt was out.

Yandy Diaz singled to start the Rays sixth but he was doubled off first when Joey Aranda lined out to second. Simpson singled with two down in the seventh but the next batter grounded out. The Rays went in order in the eight, ninth, and tenth innings. In the eleventh, Diaz walked with two outs (the Rays' only walk of the game) and pinch-runner Jorge Mateo stole second. But Aranda flied to right to end the inning.

During that time, Milwaukee's Aaron Ashby recorded seven outs, setting a record with 18 consecutive scorless innings with in a single postseason. Ashby has also set a record with seven consecutive  scoreless appearances of at least five outs; no other pitcher has done it more than five straight games.

Ian Seymour (who gave up the game-tying homer to Frelick in G2 when the Rays blew a 4-0 lead) was on the mound for the Rays in the twelfth. Pratt crushed a flat 2-2 offspeed pitch to left-center, an estimated 396 feet. It was the 29th extra-inning home run in World Series history, but the very first by a rookie. It was also the latest home run (by innings) in a potential WS clinching game; the previous four such dongs were hit in the tenth or eleventh innings. Pratt, who made his debut on June 16, is also the first rookie in WS history with four hits in a potential clinching game.

The Brewers had a chance to pad their lead when, with two outs, Jackson Chourio doubled on the 11th pitch of his plate appearance. Chouro fouled off seven pitches before doubling to the wall in right-center. Jake Bauers finished an 0-for-6 game by popping out to short.

And then it was Tampa's turn. Milwaukee's Antonio Senzatela, who pitched two perfect innings in Game 3, was the man on the mound. Caminero grounded a 1-1 pitch down the third base line. Ortiz, who had taken over for Hamilton in the ninth, fielded the ball on the line and made a long, one-hop throw to first. Bauers could not grab it on the short hop and the potential tying run was safe. Brewers manager Pat Murphy made a call to the pen and Drohan, who had pitched one inning in the NLCS, took the ball.

With Hicks at the plate, Drohan threw a strike on 0-1, but plate umpire James Hoye called it a ball. To my surprise, Contreras did not challenge the call. The count went to 2-2 and Hicks hit an opposite-field grounder through the infield and into left. Caminero, who was hobbling, somehow raced to third, sliding into the bag, or perhaps falling in a heap whose momentum carried him to the bag. Cedric Mullins pinch-ran. I was willing to accept a double play that tied the game to get rid of the baserunners and have two down. No one was listening to my plea.

DeLuca grounded a 1-2 pitch up the middle and into center field, scoring Mullins and tying the game at 3-3. Hicks stopped at second and he, too, was replaced by a pinch-runner, Nick Fortes. Simpson showed bunt a couple of times (making the two international announcers giddy with delight). On a 2-2 offering, Simpson lined a single to center. All three outfielders were playing in, so there was no chance to send Fortes. Tampa Bay had the bases loaded, and there was still no one out. As pinch-hitter Ben Williamson walked to the plate, I wondered what the chances were of a triple play. 0%, as it turned out.

Williamson chopped Drohan's first pitch into right field, somewhat towards the line. There was no play to be made, as Fortes scored and the Rays went wild.

Despite being injured and acting subdued in the twelfth inning, Junior Caminero recovered enough to deliberately draw attention to himself by celebrating by himself as his teammates congratulated each other in the infield. 

My issue with these performative antics – and I'm thinking more of Caminero's home run stroll in ALCS Game 6 than this post-game nonsense – is that they are obviously planned ahead of time. These are not spontaneous acts of happiness. They are the opposite of a natural, in-the-moment reaction, and they are done solely for the cameras. Caminero is far from alone. It seems that every other athlete acts this way. I'm singling him out because (a) I watched ALCS 6 and (b) his actions were particularly obnoxious. I don't know when these performative acts first started, but I know the trend will die off at some point, and I look forward to that day. Hopefully, nothing worse replaces it.

It's also sad to see, when you understand these athletes seem incapable of simply enjoying themselves and their accomplishments without following some script they planned ahead of time of how they are going to "react" if something good happens. (Caminero's Game 2 dugout temper tantrum also seemed to be done in the hopes of being seen on camera as a "team leader". (It seems to have worked.) He could have easily made his points out of sight, without gesturing like he was hamming it up on a theater stage.) Perhaps Caminero's fall-to-his-knees-and-raise-his-hands-to-the-heavens gesture was not planned ahead of time. Regardless, it still shows that his very first thought after his team kept its season alive was not to celebrate as a member of  that team, but to do something that would draw attention to himself, and himself alone, a stunt that says "me, me, me, look at me".

WS3: Brewers 10, Rays 1

Brewers – 002 080 000 – 10 16  0
Rays    – 000 000 001 –  1  3  1

The city of Milwaukee is on the brink of celebrating its first World Series championship in 57 years of Brewers baseball. A historic offensive explosion in the fifth inning on Monday, in which the Brewers scored eight runs with two outs, and set a World Series record with seven consecutive batters getting hits, led to a 10-1 rout for the NL champs, who now lead the World Series 3-0.

It's not completely dark for the Rays, but as the Bard says, it's getting there. No team has come back from 0-3 in a World Series. In fact, no team down 0-3 has made it past Game 5.

In all best-of-seven series, teams up 3-0 have won the series 42 of 43 times (98%), with 33 of those 43 series being four-game sweeps. The 2004 Boston Red Sox are the only team to go from 0-3 to 4-3 – and that happened in the American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees. (And the 2026 Rays are not the 2004 Red Sox.)

The Brewers are trying to become the first team (since the LCS round expanded to seven games in 1985) to sweep both the LCS and the World Series. (The 1976 Reds went 7-0 in the postseason, beating the Pirates in three straight (6-3, 6-2, 7-6) for the NL pennant and sweeping the MFY (5-1, 4-3, 6-2, 7-2) in the World Series.)

The Brewers have won eight consecutive postseason games, tied for the longest streak in a single postseason with the 2004 Red Sox, the 2005 White Sox, the 2014 Royals, and the 2019 Nationals.

The Brewers are also the seventh World Series team to win each of the first three games while hitting only one home run. Among the other six teams is the 2007 Red Sox.

The Brewers out-hit the Rays 16-3 (+13), which is the third-largest hit differential in a World Series game. The two larger hit margins were +15 (2001 Diamondbacks, Game 6 (22-7, against the MFY!)) and +14 (1982 Brewers, Game 1, 17-3)

The eight runs scored with two outs are most in an inning in World Series history and second-most in any postseason inning. (The 2020 Dodgers scored 10 two-out runs in an 11-run first inning against Atlanta in NLCS Game 3.)

Milwaukee led 2-0 on run-scoring singles in the third from Christian Yelich and William Contreras (who had three hits on Monday (one of three Brewers with as many or more hits on Monday than the entire Rays team) and is 10-for-18 in the WS).

Jackson Chourio (4-for-5 in G3, 12-for-19 overall) singled with one out in the fifth and stole second before Yelich walked. Rays starter Freddie Peralta fell behind Contreras 3-0, then got a called strike, before Contreras grounded to the left side. Third baseman Junior Caminero moved in front of shortstop Taylor "Sugar" Walls to cut off the ball. The way Caminero was positioned and moving, throwing to second (the closest base) was a natural choice – and that's what he did. However, he probably could have quickly reoriented himself and thrown Contreras out at first.

Yelich slid into second just before Ben Williamson caught the ball. Williamson did not reach for the ball or stretch out like a first baseman to receive the throw, which might have cost him an out. Second base umpire Dan Bellino was far away from the base when the ball was hit and he barely made an attempt to get any closer (see snip 3, below). Bellino was comically (and unprofessionally) out of position to make the call – and, not unexpectedly, he made the wrong call. He called the runner out, and Yelich immediately signaled to the visiting dugout that a challenge should be made. The replay showed the play was not close, relatively speaking. Here are some screenshots, with Bellino acting like he was wandering alone along a forest trail, enjoying the sunshine and fresh air, without a thought in his head.

In an instant, the entire situation was rearranged. Bellino's blown call was overturned, Yelich was safe, Contreras was given a single, the bases were loaded with Brewers, and Peralta – rather than being out of the inning – was out of the game (4.2-7-5-3-4, 87). Cam Booser took over on the mound. Booser faced four batters – and likely needed a drink or five after he was back in the safety of the dugout.

Brice Turang lined a 2-2 pitch up the middle that Walls tried to snare on a short hop. The ball "ate him up", knocking him back, and then rolling into short center. Two runs scored and the Brewers led 4-0. Garrett Mitchell, with the Rays infield moved around to the right, grounded a first-pitch single through the spot vacated by the shortstop and into left for another run (5-0). Cooper Pratt ripped the first pitch he saw down the left field line for a double – and two more runs (7-0). Booser was in danger of walking Sal Frelick before the Milwaukee outfielder cranked a 3-1 pitch to the opposite field that fell near the left field line just shy of the warning track for a double and another run (8-0). That was it for Booser (0-4-4-0-0, 12) – now it was Cole Sulser's turn. David Hamilton, who led off the inning with a high liner to third that Caminero leapt to snag, cracked a single to center. There was no play at the plate (9-0). Chourio doubled to the wall in right-center for the eighth run of the inning (10-0). Jake Bauers ended up being the guy who made both the second and third outs of the inning. He flied to left and the Rays were finally allowed to get off the field.

Jackson Chourio is the first player in World Series history with two hits and a stolen base in an inning. Only two other players have done that in the postseason: Rickey Henderson (1990 ALCS G1, 9th inning) and Chuck Knoblauch (2000 ALDS G5, 1st inning). There are 47 instances in postseason history of a player having two hits in an inning, but Chourio is the only player to do it twice (2025 NLDS G1, 1st inning). 

Most postseason hits before turning 23
Andruw Jones: 30 (45 games)
Jackson Chourio: 29 (23 games)

Most postseason RBI before turning 23
Jackson Chourio: 20
Andruw Jones: 17

Brewers starter Robert Gasser (6-1-0-1-3, 75), meanwhile, was mowing down the Tampa Bay batters with ease. After a first-inning single to Yandy Diaz, Gasser retired 12 in a row through the fifth. (Diaz was forced at second by Chandler Simpson, who ended the first inning by easily stealing second but then sliding off the bag, at which point he was tagged out). Gasser walked Victor Mesa to open the sixth, before a double play wiped out the runner. In six innings, Gasser faced the minimum 18 batters – the only World Series pitcher other than Don Larsen to achieve that feat.

The Brewers did not score any more runs, but they left runners at the corners in the sixth and at first and second in the ninth.

The Rays avoided a shutout by getting one run in the bottom of the ninth off Brandon Woodruff, who was pitching in his first game since July 4. The 33-year-old right-hander had been penciled in as an opener for Game 4, but he got the call late in Game 3. Woodruff needed one pitch to get one out before Cedric Mullins singled and took second on indifference. Woodruff struck out Jorge Mateo before Diaz doubled. (In a supreme dick move, Diaz cockily flipped his bat after lining the 3-2 pitch into the left-center field gap – yes, he thought it was appropriate to fuckin showboat with his team down by ten runs and one out away from an 0-3 WS hole that no team has ever climbed out of. The move should have embarrassed him later, if he gave it a thought, which I'm sure he did not.)

"Big Woo" is the longest-tenured player on the Brewers roster, having made his major league debut in August 2017 – with 6.1 shutout innings aganst the Rays at Tropicana Field! He missed all of 2024 and half of 2025 after shoulder surgery. Right shoulder inflammation sidelined him this summer and he opted to not have additional surgery. Although he did not pitch in any rehab games, he was added to the World Series roster. Throwing a shutout inning would have been better, but I suspect Woodruff doesn't give a shit about that.

Speaking of shit, Nic Lentz was the home plate umpire.

Each catcher challeged four ball-strike calls, and each of them could have correctly challenged several more. Contreras, who led all catchers in challenges (185) and highest overturned percentage (57%), challenged four of Lentz's calls – all four were overturned. Nick Fortes of the Rays won three of his four challenges. Toss in the blown pitch calls that were not challenged and Bellino's blown call at second (not to mention his indifference to being out of position to make the call) and it was a shameful night for the umps. A commissioner who actually cared about (or even bothered to consider) the integrity of the game and the appearance of professionalism in the most important (and most widely-watched) games of the season would have phoned Bellino immediately after the game and demanded an explanation for his nonchalance. I'm confident that Manfred made no such call. He probably wasn't even watching the game.

The Rays have run into a solid wall of Brewers Baseball.

After three games, I realize that my initial attitude after Game 1 about Dave Flemming* and Ryan Spilborghs was brought on by the effects (the contact high, as it were) of hearing a Smoltz-free game. Both international announcers have been fairly amatuerish in Games 2 and 3 – they likely were in Game 1, as well. It's well nigh impossible to talk about a baseball game for three hours without saying something nonsensical – and achieving the same level of excitement for both teams over the course of those three hours is a delicate balancing act that takes years to hone. Flemming has called Giants games for 23 years, in addition to other sports (football, basketball, golf). He's been a professional announcer for more than half his life, so there's really no excuse for his flights of hyperbole or his ongoing disbelief/amazement at things that, while uncommon, are far from rare in baseball. His gushing incredulity over the Brewers' comeback in Game 2 left me with the impression that he has never seen a team rally from four runs down with nine innings of batting to go – no, forget never seen it, never even considered such a thing was possible.

In the top of the fifth, before the Brewers bats went wild, when Tampa Bay was down by two runs and had two outs in the fifth, Flemming stated: "It feels like the Rays' season is on the line right here." Which was a preposterous thing to say. Meaning if the Rays did not get the third out immediately, if they had allowed a run and trailed 3-0 (with five innings left) in Game 3, they had no hope, no chance. Even if that was somehow true, a professional announcer knows not to say it. As the Brewers were increasing their lead with every batter, Spilly said this was "the nail in the [Rays'] coffin". A couple of batters later, one of them remarked that his "jaw just hit the floor" over the awesomeness of the Brewers.

In the top of the ninth inning, Fortes challenged a "ball" call by Lentz with Hamilton at the plate. It was overturned and ruled a strike. Spilborghs rushed to defend the indefensible. Referring to the eight pitch challenges by the catchers, he said: "That's not a knock on Lentz . . ." – at which point both Laura and I yelled in unison at the TV, "Yes, it is!!" The rest of Spilborghs' sentence: ". . . those pitches are so close to the strike zone." Yeah. They were. That's why it's important to make sure those pitches are called correctly. It's a job that is impossible for human eyes to accurately accomplish.

This current system, of each team having two challenges per game, losing a challenge only if the initial call is confirmed, is like the suburbs of situations. The suburbs are horrible because they offer none of the benefits of living either in a city or in a rural area; all they have is the worst qualities of both places. In this case, a fan can clearly see how using ABS for every pitch would make rulings on balls and strikes fair for both teams for the first time in 150 years of baseball history and yet she is still left steaming over all of the blown calls that are not challenged. Jesus, my disgust and contempt for Rob Manfred (and to a lesser extent, the players' union, because they have signed off on all the gimmicky bullshit) is so all-encompassing, when I contemplate its magnitude, my jaw hits the floor.

WS2: Brewers 5, Rays 4

Rays    - 400 000 000 - 4  7  1
Brewers - 200 101 10x - 5 11  1

The Milwaukee Brewers have seen their opponents take the lead in eight of 10 postseason games this month – and yet they have rallied to win seven of those eight games. 

They were down in the first two games of the NLDS against the Padres and came back to win both  contests. The Dodgers held a lead in all four NLCS games, but Milwaukee rallied to sweep Los Angeles for the pennant.

On Saturday night, the Brewers found themselves down by four runs to Tampa Bay before they had a chance to bat. They scored two runs in the home half and chipped away while keeping the Rays from adding to their lead. Sam Frelick's home run to dead center in the sixth, coming mere minutes after Jackson Chourio easily threw out a Rays runner at the plate (photo above), tied the game at 4-4. In the following inning, Brice Turang doubled and scored on Cooper Pratt's single to right to give Milwaukee its first lead of the night.

The Brewers are now 9-1 in this postseason. They have trailed in eight of their 10 games – yet they are 7-1 in those games. They have also won their last seven games, dating back to the NLDS.

For the second consecutive game, a Tampa Bay batter ended the game by striking out with the tying run on third base. Yandy Díaz tried to check his swing on a low 3-2 pitch inside, but he was called out (correctly) by first base umpire James Hoye. Díaz complained, but the replays were clear.

 

The Rays blew numerous chances to score all night long. To wit:

T2: Mesa on second, 1 out; Díaz and Aranda both strike out swinging.

T4: DeLuca on first, 1 out; Mesa pops to second, Walls takes strike three.

T5: Aranda doubles with 1 out, on third with 2 outs, Caminero grounds to shortstop.

T6: Hicks HBP, on second, 1 out, out at plate to end inning on Mesa single to short left.

T7: Walls walks, steals second with 1 out, on third with 2 outs, Simpson grounds to first.

T9: DeLuca doubles to lead off, Mesa strikes out swinging, Williamson grounds to third (DeLuca to third), Díaz strikes out swinging.

The Rays were 3-for-14 with RATS in Game 2. They are 3-for-20 in the two games.

It was the Brewers' seventh comeback win of this postseason; the other 11 postseason teams have combined for nine comeback wins. It was also Milwaukee's seventh consecutive postseason victory. The series shifts to Tampa Bay where Milwaukee could clinch its first championship as early as next Tuesday.

The night started as well as it possibly could for Tampa Bay. They scored four times off starter Logan Henderson (3-3-4-1-4, 64), quickly quieting the raucous Milwaukee fans. Díaz saw seven pitches before grounding slowly to shortstop; Pratt's low throw skipped by Jake Bauers at first and disappeared into the camera well for a two-base error. Aranda struck out, but Chandler Simpson grounded a single into left-center and Díaz scored. Simpson stole second and Caminero ripped a single to left to make it 2-0. Hicks then became the fourth Canadian-born player to homer in a World Series game by crushing a 0-1 offering into the second deck in right (estimated 411 feet). Rays 4-0.

[The other three Canadians: George Selkirk (1936 Yankees, G5), Larry Walker (2004 Cardinals, G1 (against the 2004 Red Sox)), and Vladimir Guerrero (2025 Blue Jays, G5). )Video of Walker and Vlad here.)]

The Brewers scored twice off Drew Rasmussen (3.2-6-3-2-4, 89) in their first inning. Chourio and Bauers both singled to right, putting men on first and third. With Contreras batting with one out, Bauers took off for second, second baseman Richie Palacios moved towards the bag to field a possible throw, and Contreras singled through the spot where he had just been standing. Palacios could not get back in time, and the ball went into right-center. Turang lined out to second before Garrett Mitchell singled to right. Contreras was off with the pitch and took third, but both runners were left when Pratt fanned.

The first inning took 33 minutes to play. The seven total hits tied a record for the most hits in the first inning of a World Series game. It had happened nine times beore, most recently in Game 1 of the 1984 WS. . . . The six combined runs is tied for the third-most in a World Series first inning (with 1912 G7, 1945 G7, and 1960 G3). There was seven runs scored in the first inning of G4 in 1993. The record is eight runs, in G2 back in 1958.

The Brewers are the third team to start pitchers under age 25 in the first two games of a World Series:

1966 Orioles, Dave McNally and Jim Palmer
1972 Reds, Gary Nolan and Ross Grimsley
2026 Brewers, Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson

Milwaukee was retired in order in only one inning (the second) making the Rays pitchers face a lot of "traffic", as baserunners now seem to be called. (I don't like the term, it reminds me of the bases being described as "clogged".) Also, during both the ALCS and NLCS, slugging and slugging percentage was referred to as simply "slug", i.e., "A big part of Smith's game is slug" or "To be successful tonight, pitcher Jones needs to limit slug." In recent years, I've gotten used to Ron Darling's insistence on referring to the postseason as "post" ("he's shown more plate discipline in post"), but I find this newer terminology bizarre – and completely unacceptable.)

The Brewers closed the gap with a run in the fourth. Rasmussen (who had thrown a season-high 66 pitches through three innings) walked Pratt with one out after being ahead 0-2. Frelick singled to right and Pratt raced to third. David Hamilton grounded an 0-2 pitch to first. Aranda must have taken a quick peek at the runner on third because the ball glanced off his glove and went through his legs for an error. Palacios was moving behind Hamilton and made a surpringly accurate scoop-shovel-pass with his glove to first, making the play at first far closer than it should have been. Pratt scored, cutting the Rays' lead to 4-3. Rasmussen got the second out but walked Bauers to load the bases -- and that was the end of his night. Cam Booser got Yelich to ground to second to strand three runners.

A word about Hicks being gunned down at the plate. He had been hit by a pitch and bunted to second. When Mesa's two-out single was fielded by Chourio in shallow left, Hicks (ranked 496th in MLB sprint speed) was still two or three steps from third base! A still shot of the replay was amazing to see. And there was third base coach Wendell Kim Brady Williams windmilling him in. It was a huge blunder.

Frelick tied the game with a leadoff dong in the home sixth. It was the first batter Ian Seymour faced and Frelick battled him through nine pitches (cbbffbff). It was Frelick's first home run since July 11. In 111 regular season games, he hit four homers and slugged .319. Bauers: "I've never seen him hit a dead-center homer in BP."

Hamilton followed and saw nine pitches also, fouling off six in a row before striking out. (bsffffffs). Jackson Chourio also struck out but saw eight pitches (cbfbffbs). Bauers walked on a full count and Yelich singled him to third. That was it for Seymour (32 pitches to his first four batters). Tyler Wells got Contreras to ground to third to prevent Milwaukee from taking the lead . . . in that inning, at least.

The leadoff man in the next frame scoired the go-ahead run. Turang doubled to right-center off Wells. He tagged and went to third when Mitchell flied to deep right. Kevin Kelly took over on the mound and gave up a run-scoring single to Pratt. Pratt then stole second before Frelick crushed a ball to deep right that Mesa caught on the track.

The Brewers were busy in the eighth, as well. Chouro singled to center and Yelich walked with one out. A double steal (without a throw) put runners at second and third. Contreras grounded to third and threw out Chourio at the plate. The Brewers challenged both the call and whether Hicks was blocking the plate (amazingly, still, after many years, this is not allowed any more). Both the out call and Hicks's positioning were upheld.

Milwaukee's Aaron Ashby, who pitched the final 1.2 innings, "is the first pitcher in postseason history to get at least five outs in six consecutive appearances and not allow a run in any of them". The goggled lefty has now pitched 15.2 scoreless innings in this postseason, allowing only five hits and three walks, and striking out 17.

Most consecutive scoreless innings to start a postseason, relievers
2016 Andrew Miller: 16 
2026 Aaron Ashby: 15.2 (active)
1984 Andy Hawkins: 15.1
1981 Goose Gossage: 14.1 (entire postseason run)

Sarah Langs reports: "In all best-of-seven postseason series, teams with a 2-0 lead have gone on to win the series 80 of 96 times (83%). In series with the current 2-3-2 format, teams taking a 2-0 lead at home have gone on to win 47 of 58 times (81%)."

Langs: "The Brewers are the first team to win 7 of the first 8 games in which they trailed in a postseason." . . . Teams to win each of first 2 games of a World Series by 1 run each: 2026 Brewers, 2000 Yankees, 1995 Atlanta, 1972 A's, 1970 Orioles, 1950 Yankees, 1916 Red Sox. The first six all won the series.

Brewers Comebacks

NLDS: Brewers vs Padres
G1: Brewers trailed 2-0 (B3), won 3-2
G2: Brewers trailed 1-0 (B1), 2-0 (B5), 2-1 (B6), 3-1 (B7), 3-2 (B8), won 4-3
G3: Brewers trailed 2-0 (T4), 2-1 (T5), 3-2 (T6), 4-2 (T7), lost 4-3
G4: Brewers never trailed, won 3-1, won series

NLCS: Brewers vs Dodgers
G1: Brewers trailed 1-0 (B4), won 2-1
G2: Brewers trailed 1-0 (B1), 2-1 (B3), 4-3 (B5), won 7-4
G3: Brewers trailed 2-1 (T7), won 6-2
G4: Brewers trailed 4-0 (T4), won 6-4, won series

WS: Brewers vs Rays
G1: Brewers never trailed, won 3-2
G2: Brewers trailed 4-0 (B1), 4-2 (T2), 4-3 (T5), won 5-4

What grade did the international broadcast team of Dave Flemming and Ryan Spilborghs receive in this game? If I gave them a B for Game 1, I'd have to go with a C- (or even D+) tonight. Both announcers were unabashed Brewers fans to an alarming (and embarrassing) degree, acting as though a comeback by the team with the best record in baseball, down two runs with eight innings to go, was akin to a miracle. Flemming referred to Spilborghs as "Spilly" twice within a span of five pitches in the top of the third, and then sporadically the rest of the night. If Spilly referred to Flemming as "Flemmy", at any time, I did not hear it.

These guys are fuckin obsessed with bunting. They want every goddamn batter to bunt. It's unbelievable. I wish scripts were available of basebal games because I'd love to list the numerous times one of these guys prayed for a bunt. Flemming also repeatedly referred to many things as "unreal" throughout the night, including the fact that Rasmussen had a less-than-ideal start.

Before the first pitch, Spilborghs referred to Rays manager Kevin Cash as "one of the best tacticians" in the game, as assessment at which Blake Snell might raise an eyebrow. (That was a while ago, maybe he's improved since then.) Cash made several inexplicable bullpen decisions in Game 1. I don't consider whether his moves worked out, they must be judged immediately after he makes them. And bringing in two rusty arms in high-leverage spots when all of his best arms were rested defied all logic.

In the top of the fifth, with Aranda on second and one out, Spilborghs said: "It really feels like the Rays have to score in this inning." In the bottom half of the inning, he stated that "all momentum is with the Brewers". First of all, I wish announcers (even former players) would refrain from projecting their own personal feelings about the flow of the game onto every single one of the 20 players who are playing the game. Every fan has her own subjective opinion about whether any momentum exists at any given point in a game and in which direction and at which speed it might be flowing. It's highly presumptuous for an announcer to think his opinion is perfectly reflected in the minds of all the players in the game. (Actually, it sounds downright insane when I type it out, way more nutty than I thought when I started this paragraph.)

Afte Frelick homered to tie the game in the sixth, Flemming said he "just had a feeling" something like this was about to happen. Well, shit, Dave, why didn't you say something before the fuckin home run, since you "had a feeling"? Perhaps he thoughtfully didn't want to ruin the surprise for everyone else.

Spilborghs gets points for referring to BABIP (batting average on balls in play) when Pratt was batting in the seventh. But then he also said, "This is where I love bunts", right before Pratt smacked an RBI-single, giving Milwaukee a 5-4 lead. Brewers fans are very glad you are not managing their team, Spilly.

When the speedy Simpson batted with two down in the Rays' seventh, Spilborghs told us that the Brewers' first and third basemen were in on the infield grass, guarding against a bunt. We got an overheard shot immedately after he said that and both Hamilton and Bauers were standing on the infield dirt, extremely close to, but clearly not on, the infield grass. Why would an announcer flat-out lie to the audience about what's happening on the field? You expect that from a senile John Sterling, but not an announcer hired to call the World Series.

WS1: Brewers 3, Rays 2

Rays    - 000 100 001 - 2  7  0
Brewers - 200 000 10x - 3  8  0

Milwaukee jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead after only four batters in Game 1 of the 2026 World Series and added a needed insurance run in the seventh, closing the door on a Tampa Bay ninth inning rally that left the tying run at third base.

This is the only the third World Series in the last 126 years in which both teams are hoping to win their first championship. In 1980, the Phillies beat the Royals in six games, and in 1920, Cleveland beat the Brooklyn Robins five games to two. . . . After this series is decided, there will be only four major league teams without a World Series title, including the Padres, Mariners and Rockies.

Before the Brewers got on the board, however, the Rays singled twice off Jacob Misiorowski (5-4-1-1-3, 78) with one out in the top of the first. Junior Caminero, whose ostentatious and premeditated showboating during a home run "trot" in ALCS Game 6 had the ghosts of Sal Maglie and Bob Gibson begging to be brought back to life in order to lodge a fastball in his ear, lined into a 5-4 double play to end the inning. Sadly, Milwaukee third baseman David Hamilton did not mimic Caminero by yelling like a madman and repeatedly pounding his chest after the play.

Rays starter Nick Martinez (5-5-2-0-5, 73) had a good outing, but he had a rough first inning. Jackson Chourio banged his first pitch into right for a single. After getting an out, Martinez gave up a triple and a run when center fielder Jonny DeLuca dove for Christian Yelich's line drive in right center and came up empty. William Contreras then singled Yelich home. Martinez bounced back, allowing only two other baserunners in five innings.

Misiorowski retired the side in order in the second and third innings. He walked Jonathan Aranda to open the fourth and gave up a one-out double to Caminero that sailed over the head and glove of Garrett Mitchell in center. Liam Hicks grounded to first and a run scored.

In the top of the fifth, Victor Mesa singled and went to second on Ben Williamson's grounder to third (Hamilton grabbed the ball near the line and threw from foul territory; Jake Bauers made an excellent  play at first, crossing into the runner's pathway to make a backhanded pick of the one-hop throw). With two outs, Yandy Diaz had a 0-2 count when Mesa inexplicably tried to steal third. Contreras's throw was perfect, hitting Hamilton's mitt a few inches from the ground and directly in front of the bag (and Mesa's incoming foot).

In the home half of the fifth, Hamilton lined a ball into the right field corner with one out. He had triple  on his mind but he stumbled slightly after touching second base and he was thrown out 9-4-5 on a very close play.

Contreras threw out another Tampa Bay runner attempting to steal in the sixth. Aranda singled and was off on a full-count pitch from Abner Uribe to Chandler Simpson. The batter whiffed and Contreras made another perfect throw to nab Aranda at second.

Stephen Matz took over for Martinez and issued two two-out walks in the sixth but wriggled out of trouble. In the seventh, Matz walked Cooper Pratt, recorded two outs and was pulled. Kevin Kelly's first pitch to Chourio was lined off Aranda's glove at first and into right field. Pratt scored to give the Brewers a 3-1 lead. Bauers then singled on a ball that appeared to land on the foul side of the left field line. Umpire Dan Bellino was standing directly over the play and called it a single. A review of the play confirmed the call. (I was dumbfounded. The replay clearly showed a foul ball. However, as we have seen on pitch challenges, if the baseball even grazes the strike zone, it's ruled a strike. In this case, perhaps the falling baseball flicked a blade of grass that had a microscopic dab of white chalk on it, making it a fair ball even though 99.9999999% of the baseball landed in foul territory.) The call ended up being moot, as Yelich ended the inning by grounding out to first.

Aaron Ashby, who got the last two outs in the seventh, retired the bottom third of the Rays lineup in order in the eighth, fanning two.

The next two half innings featured double plays in which the batting team challenged both umpire calls, at second and at first. In the bottom of the eighth, Contreras singled off Kelly, who was replaced by Garrett Cleavinger, who was making his first appearance in this postseason. Indeed, he had not pitched in seven weeks, making this a most curious decision by Rays manager Kevin Cash. Trailing by two runs with only the top of the ninth to tie or take the lead, holding Milwaukee scoreless in this inning was essential. Why opt for the guy working on 49 days rest?

Cleavinger walked Bruce Turang on five pitches. Cameras showed Cash going to the bullpen phone!! Why? He's your guy and he's got to face two more batters! Cash then had Mitchell try to bunt (again, why?) and he tapped a soft little pop-up to third. Pratt grounded into what was called a 5-4-3 double play. Tampa Bay challenged both calls. Pratt was clearly safe at first (good work, Nic Lentz!) and the force at second was upheld. Cash went to his bullpen and brought in another odd choice, Cole Sulser (who faced five batters in ALCS G1 and allowed three runs for a 40.50 ERA). But Sulser got another force at second to end the inning.

Then it was Trevor Megill versus the top of the Tampa order in the ninth. Diaz grounded out to third. Aranda singled to left-center and Simpson whacked an 0-2 pitch up the middle onto center. Jorge Mateo pinch-ran for Aranda at second. With Caminero batting, Mateo and Simpson pulled a double steal without a throw. Megill was ahead 1-2, but Caminero checked his swing on ball 2 and both balls 3 and 4 were in the dirt. Bases loaded for the Rays. Hicks swung at the first pitch and grounded into what was called a game-ending 4-6-3 double play. The Brewers let off some fireworks in celebration -- as the Rays asked for a review of both calls.

The replay showed the batter was out at first, but the force at second was much closer. The question was whether Pratt, in moving over the bag while taking the throw from Turang and about to throw to first, kept his right foot on the bag when he had possession of the ball. A super slo-mo showed that his foot was a small fraction of an inch off the bag and so the call was overturned. It was simply a 463 groundout, Mateo scored and the Rays had runners at second and third with two outs.

Two thoughts on the reversed call at second. I've seen plenty of calls upheld when the replay was as close as this, too close to warrant reversing the call. Also, for decades, middle infielders benefited from what was called "the neighbourhood play", where as long as the shortstop or second baseman was within maybe five feet (!!) of the bag, he would get the out call on attempted double plays. It was ridiculous, having this special "out zone", or an aura of outness, surrounding this one base and not the others?

With fireworks smoke acting as light fog over the field, Megill struck out DeLuca on a 2-2 pitch low and away, and the Brewers' celebration started up again, this time for real.

I cannot adequately express the wonderfulness of watching a postseason game without the hectoring tone of John Smoltz's voice. The international announcers are Dave Flemming (play-by-play) and Ryan Spilborghs (analyst). I missed identifying Spilborghs at the start of the game and I could not readily find his name online, so the first four innings were spent wondering who was this guy? Unlike Smoltz, this announcer seemed like a regular guy and was clearly enjoying himself. I don't think Smoltz has ever sounded like he's having fun. I detected small clues during the game as to who this guy was, maybe one per inning. He was an outfielder, he played in a World Series, he was a teammate of Troy Tulowitzki. I figured I'd have to replay the pre-game to get his name, but I did finally find his name online.

Compared to the main Fox guys, Flemming and Spilborghs were a relaxing breath of unassuming fresh air. Still, I did make some notes, which are never positive. Regarding Misiorowski's game plan, Spilborghs opined "so far, so good" after a mere four pitches. The graphics for the lineups showed the flags of the players' birth places, which is useless information, but also, who thinks US viewers could recognize any non-US flag?!?

There is never a need for a third booth guy. I felt bad for Jeff Francoeur during the xLCS (not looking it up) when they'd show the booth and there he was, between the other two guys, his legs pressed together, wedged in like the middle seat passenger on a long flight.

Nick Martinez was the oldest pitcher to make his WS debut starting Game 1 (36 yrs, 79 days) since the late Tim Wakefield in 2004!!! Wake was 38 yrs, 82 days. His opponent in that game, Woody Williams (38 yrs, 65 days), was the second-oldest all-time.

Yelich was the first player to triple to his first WS at-bat since Lynn Jones of the Royals in 1985. (Lynn Jones: first-base coach of the 2004 Red Sox!!) Flemming remarked that "there was a lot of triples in that World Series", which matched the Royals and Cardinals, two speedy teams who both played on some unforgiving mixture of turf and cement. 

The Royals won that series in seven games. There were three triples hit in those seven games: two by the Royals (Jones (G1), Willie Wilson (G5)), and one by the Cardinals (Terry Pendleton (G4)). Three triples, out of 108 hits. Not "a lot", in my opinion.

The NLCS (Brewers/Dodgers) Feels Like The True World Series

Los Angeles Times

Ideally, the World Series would pit the top two major league teams (or each league's leader in wins) against each other. The Brewers (103-59) and Dodgers (100-62) finished 1-2 in team wins this season – and with all due respect (and apologies) to the Rays and Guardians, the National League Championship Series feels like this year's true World Series.

In the NL, the Brewers and Dodgers were 1-2 in batting average (MIL .258, LAD .257) and 1-3 in OBP (MIL .341, LAD .338). The Dodgers finished 2nd in slugging, the Brewers, 10th.

The Brewers had the second-lowest team ERA (3.51), the Dodgers fourth (3.55). In WHIP, the Dodgers were second (1.142), Brewers were fourth (1.178). Best K/BB ratio: Dodgers, third, 3.17, Brewers, fifth, 2.98).

This is also a rematch of last year's NLCS, which the Dodgers swept in four games: 2-1, 5-1, 3-1, 5-1. In that series, the Brewers' hit totals were: 2, 3, 4, 5! I remember noticing that pattern after Game 3 and was really hoping that Milwaukee would get exactly five hits (and one run) in Game 4 -- and they did!!

The Dodgers are trying to win their third consecutive World Series title. They have won 100+ games in six of the last last nine full seasons (2017-26). In the shortened season of 2020, LA had the best winning percentage in franchise history (.717) and were playing at a 116-win pace (43-17).

The Brewers' 103 wins this year is a franchise record, dating back to 1969 (as the Seattle Pilots; the club moved before the 1970 season and became the Brewers). The 2025 Brewers had the 2nd-most wins in team history (97-65).

Starting pitchers for Game 1: Tarik Skubal vs. Jacob Misiorowski!

Skubal won the AL Cy Young Award in both 2024 (unanimous) and 2025 (26 of 30 votes) with the Tigers. The Dodgers traded for him in early August, believing in the adage that you can never have enough pitching. Skubal had a 2.79 ERA and 0.910 WHIP in 16 starts for Detroit and was 2.61, 1.048, in 10 starts for Los Angeles. His last start came on October 3, in NLDS Game 1 against Atlanta: 6-2-1-2-7, 94.

Misiorowski will win the NL Cy Young Award, presumably unanimously. He made his major league debut in June 2025, so 2026 was his first full season. He led the majors in ERA (1.80) strikeouts (252), WHIP (0.802), ERA+ (232), FIP (2.17), fewest H/9 (4.9), lowest batting average against (.157, a major league record), and most K/9 (13.0). The young fireballer He started Game 1 of the NLDS against the Padres (his first pitch was clocked at 105) and allowed two runs in four innings (4-4-2-1-6, 88). In his short career, he's pitched against the Dodgers in three games (two starts): 17 innings, 3 earned runs (1.59), 66 batters, 27 strikeouts (40.9%).

Mike Petriello, mlb.com, describes this matchup as "phenomenal" and "by any measure, an absolutely scintillating starting pitching pairing". It's nearly unprecedented.

On one side: The presumptive 2026 NL Cy Young winner. The almost certain hardest-throwing-starting-pitcher-to-ever-live. The most difficult starter to ever get a hit off of in a single season in history. That's Misiorowski, who rolls in with a 1.80 ERA, one of the exceptionally few times in the last 50 years that a qualified starter has had an ERA under 2.00.

On the other side: The back-to-back reigning AL Cy Young winner . . . The man who leads the Majors in pitching WAR over the last three seasons, and also led the NL in pitching WAR after the trade. . . .

This matchup has everything you could want, on the field and off. First, these are two of the best pitchers in baseball. . . . There's also the context in which this matchup is taking place . . .

Have we seen a postseason starting pitching matchup with this much juice before? . . .

One way to quantify pitchers is with Baseball Savant's "Enhanced Game Score," which starts with the decades-old metric of Game Score, which adds or subtracts points for traditional box score things like innings, outs, strikeouts, walks, and hits. . . . But Enhanced Game Score takes that and adds in some modernization from MLB Senior Data Architect Tom Tango, and then puts it all in the form of a rolling, 1,000-day window, with more weight given to recent events.

This all goes back to 1971, and it lets you find out not only who the best pitcher at any given time was, but when that happened. For example, the No. 1 pitcher on record by this method is Pedro Martinez, which should surprise no one. . . .

Martinez is followed by Clayton Kershaw, Vida Blue, Dwight Gooden, and Greg Maddux, with great runs from Tom Seaver and other legends not far behind. . . .

By this method, today's current top five pitchers are 1) Skubal, 2) Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 3) Sale, 4) Misiorowski, and 5) Cam Schlittler. . . .

So, using this information, we can say NLCS Game 1 features the No. 1 pitcher in baseball (Skubal) vs. the No. 4 pitcher in baseball (Misiorowski), and that sure matches the eye test of "it doesn't get a whole lot better than that, does it?"

Well: Does it? 

There's been nearly 1,500 postseason starts since 1971. Exactly 13 of them featured two top-four starters against one another, and that is essentially 1% of all games. One of them, we hadn't realized at the time, came just last week, the first of its kind in six years. That was in the NL Division Series, when Sale faced Yamamoto in an excellent pitcher’s duel. 

The full list of top-four matchups is limited, exclusive, and, we think, fantastic.

Postseason matchups between two top-four starters (since 1971)

1981 NLDS // Fernando Valenzuela (LAD) vs Nolan Ryan (HOU)
1985 NLCS // Valenzuela (LAD) vs John Tudor (STL)
1986 NLCS // Dwight Gooden (NYM) vs Mike Scott (HOU)
1986 WS // Gooden (NYM) vs Roger Clemens (BOS)
1990 ALCS // Dave Stewart (OAK) vs Clemens (BOS), twice
2014 NLDS // Clayton Kershaw (LAD) vs Adam Wainwright (STL)
2016 NLDS // Kershaw (LAD) vs Max Scherzer (WSH)
2016 NLDS // Jake Arrieta (CHC) vs Madison Bumgarner (SF)
2018 ALCS // Justin Verlander (HOU) vs Sale (BOS)
2019 WS // Gerrit Cole (HOU) vs Scherzer (WSH)
2020 ALWC // Cole (NYY) vs Shane Bieber (CLE)
2026 NLDS // Sale (ATL) vs Yamamoto (LAD) . . .

If we take the average rank of the two starting pitchers, then the Skubal vs. Misiorowski matchup is going to be the third-best of those nearly 1,500 total games. 

The best? It came in that NLCS Game 1 in 1986, a matchup between Gooden (first) and Scott (second), the only time we've had a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup. . . . Next best would be Game 4 of the 1990 ALCS, when Clemens (first) faced Stewart (third) . .  .

If it feels like it doesn't get much better than this, that's because it hasn't. It doesn't. It almost really can't. 

At mlb.com, 34 writers submitted their predictions for the NLCS:

Dodgers 17
Brewers 17

A Breakdown

Brewers in 7 games: 14 votes
Brewers in 6 games:  3 votes

Dodgers in 7 games:  4 votes
Dodgers in 6 games:  8 votes
Dodgers in 5 games:  5 votes

Brian Murphy, mlb.com:

Why the Dodgers will win

They are the two-time defending World Series champions with an unmatched level of talent and experience. Their starting rotation is full of bona fide aces, including a pair of two-time Cy Young Award winners (Tarik Skubal and Blake Snell) and last season's World Series MVP (Yoshinobu Yamamoto). Their bullpen is deep, and their star closer seems to be rediscovering his elite form.

Their lineup boasts three MVP winners and seven multi-time All-Stars -- and that's not even including the utility player [Kike Hernandez] whose postseason resume has him in the company of Hall of Fame sluggers. Plus, they looked every bit like a juggernaut as they . . . limited Atlanta to two total runs over the final two [NLDS] games.

Not everything is sunshine and rainbows for Los Angeles. Shohei Ohtani . . .is playing through multiple injuries and has a .520 OPS over his past 23 games (postseason included). Catcher Will Smith went 1-for-16 with seven strikeouts during the NLDS. But the fact that the Dodgers handled Atlanta with relative ease without contributions from those two cornerstone players proves how formidable they remain.

Why the Brewers will win

There are plenty of reasons why this year's trip to the NLCS is different for the Brewers. The biggest one will fire the first pitch of this series come Sunday night. At this time last year, Jacob Misiorowski was a rookie who had 73 big league innings under his belt and had inconsistent results entering the playoffs. . . . Misiorowski is perhaps the best pitcher in the sport right now and the heavy favorite to take home the NL Cy Young. . . . 

However, Milwaukee's rotation is more than just one powerful arm. Logan Henderson owns a 2.33 ERA through his first 23 Major League starts, and Robert Gasser has a 1.73 ERA over his past seven outings (36.1 innings, postseason included). Behind them lies a trio of dominant relievers [Trevor Megill, Abner Uribe and Aaron Ashby] who can shorten any game. [They pitched 12.2 innings vs. the Padres and allowed one unearned run.]

At the plate, this version of the Brewers looks more dangerous than the group that scored a total of four runs in the 2025 NLCS. Jake Bauers had a 140 OPS+ during the regular season. Brice Turang is as good as they come at second base. Christian Yelich and William Contreras swung hot bats in the NLDS versus San Diego. And burgeoning superstar Jackson Chourio has established himself as Milwaukee's Mr. October.