Rays vs. Brewers World Series Preview: Schedule, Tickets and a Guaranteed First-Time Champion

For the first time in 46 years, the World Series will end with a franchise lifting its first championship trophy. The Tampa Bay Rays, champions of the American League, open the 2026 Fall Classic against the National League champion Milwaukee Brewers on Friday, Oct. 23, at American Family Field in Milwaukee, with first pitch set for 8 p.m. Eastern on FOX. Neither team has ever won a World Series, and Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg will host Games 3, 4 and, if needed, 5 next week.

The last World Series between two teams seeking their first title came in 1980, when the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Kansas City Royals, according to FOX 13 and WUSF.

A matchup of No. 1 seeds

This is the top seed from each league. Milwaukee went 103-59, won the NL Central and earned home-field advantage with the best record in the majors. Tampa Bay finished 98-64, won the AL East and took the American League's No. 1 seed.

Both franchises have been close before. The Brewers, then an American League club, lost the 1982 World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. The Rays lost to the Phillies in 2008 and to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Friday's opener will be the first World Series game ever played at American Family Field, which opened in 2001; Milwaukee's 1982 home games were at County Stadium.

How Tampa Bay got here

The Rays swept the New York Yankees in the Division Series, then came from behind to beat the Cleveland Guardians 4-2 in the ALCS. Tampa Bay trailed that series 2-1 before winning three straight, closing it out with a 7-3 victory in Game 6 on Monday night at Tropicana Field. Junior Caminero and Yandy Díaz hit two-run homers in the clincher, and Freddy Peralta, acquired from the New York Mets at the trade deadline, was named ALCS MVP.

How Milwaukee got here

The Brewers beat the San Diego Padres 3-1 in the Division Series and then swept the two-time defending champion Dodgers in the NLCS. They finished it with a 6-4 win in Game 4 in Los Angeles on Oct. 15, erasing a four-run deficit as Garrett Mitchell hit a go-ahead homer in the sixth and David Hamilton added a two-out solo shot in the ninth. Aaron Ashby threw three scoreless innings for the save, according to The Associated Press.

The AP noted the sweep carried a measure of revenge: Los Angeles had swept Milwaukee in the 2025 NLCS. The pennant was the Brewers' first as a National League team and their second overall, making them the second franchise, after the Houston Astros, to win pennants in both leagues. Milwaukee will have had more than a week off by Friday's opener.

The schedule

The series follows the 2-3-2 format, with Milwaukee hosting the first two games and the last two if the series goes that far. Every game is scheduled for 8 p.m. Eastern.

Games air on FOX, which is WTVT FOX 13 in the Tampa Bay area, and in Spanish on FOX Deportes. Locally, radio coverage is on WDAE.

Pitching plans

Neither team had formally announced its Game 1 starter as of Tuesday. Yahoo Sports suggested the opener could pit Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski against Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen, who held Cleveland to one run over seven innings in Game 5 of the ALCS on Sunday. Tampa Bay's postseason rotation has leaned on Rasmussen, Peralta and Nick Martinez, according to ESPN. Peralta threw 84 pitches in Monday's clincher.

Tickets: Milwaukee costs far more

Fans hoping to see the Rays in person will find the cheapest path runs through St. Petersburg. FOX 13 reported Monday that the lowest prices for Games 1 and 2 in Milwaukee topped $2,700 on secondary ticket markets, more than double the entry price for the games at Tropicana Field. Entry-level seats for Games 3, 4 and 5 were running around $1,100, with premium seats reaching $4,800. The station cautioned that prices were estimates and could change.

For a Rays fan flying from Tampa International Airport, FOX 13 estimated that a Game 1 trip, counting airfare, hotel and a ticket, would cost at least $3,100 per person. Direct one-way flights to Milwaukee for Friday morning were priced from $130 to $275, the station reported.

Merchandise sales on a record pace

The pennant also set off a rush on gear. Official AL championship and World Series merchandise went on sale right after the final out Monday, and retailers told FOX 13 that Rays postseason sales are on track to beat 2020's numbers. Official shirts are selling for $50 and hats for $45, with limited-edition pennants also available. Bay Republic, the official Tropicana Field store, is among the main sellers, along with pop-up shops around the Tampa Bay area and online retailers including Fanatics. The station reported strong demand for items featuring homegrown players and the renovated Trop.

The Trop's comeback year

The World Series games in St. Petersburg cap a remarkable return for Tropicana Field. Hurricane Milton shredded the stadium's roof in October 2024, forcing the Rays to play the 2025 season at George M. Steinbrenner Field, the Yankees' spring training home in Tampa. The team moved back into the repaired dome this year and won 55 home games, according to WUSF.

The Trop's days as the Rays' home are still numbered. In late August, the Tampa City Council voted 4-3 and the Hillsborough County Commission voted 5-2 to approve a new ballpark on a 115-acre site in Tampa's Drew Park, now home to Hillsborough College's Dale Mabry campus near Raymond James Stadium. Reports have put the project's cost at roughly $2.3 billion. The county's contribution is capped at $796 million and the city's at $80 million, with the Rays covering more than $1.3 billion plus any cost overruns, according to WUSF. The new stadium is planned to open in 2029.

What's next

The Rays travel to Milwaukee ahead of Friday's Game 1. The series returns to Tropicana Field on Monday, Oct. 26, giving Tampa Bay fans at least two home games and possibly a third. The earliest the series can end is Game 4 on Tuesday, Oct. 27, in St. Petersburg.