For the first time since 1980, the World Series will crown a champion that has never won it before. The Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays — two of baseball's lowest-payroll clubs, dubbed "Suds vs. Sun" by the Associated Press — opened the Fall Classic on Friday night in Milwaukee, each chasing the first title in franchise history.
The matchup was set on Monday, when the Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians 7-3 in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series. Yandy Díaz, who had guaranteed a victory the day before, backed it up with a 416-foot two-run homer in the eighth inning; Junior Caminero also hit a two-run shot, Freddy Peralta pitched 5 1/3 gritty innings, and Tampa Bay claimed its third pennant in 29 seasons. "We got one more bite!" manager Kevin Cash told his team. The loss extended Cleveland's championship drought to 78 years.
Milwaukee arrives as the best team in baseball this year. The Brewers won a franchise-record 103 games and swept the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series, earning home-field advantage and the rest that comes with it.
A rarity nearly half a century old
According to MLB.com's Sarah Langs, this is the eighth World Series between two franchises both seeking their first title — but the first since the 1980 Phillies-Royals series, and the first in which both clubs have been waiting at least 25 years. Milwaukee's only previous appearance ended in defeat in 1982; Tampa Bay lost in 2008 and again in 2020, to the Dodgers. Only five of today's 30 clubs have never won a title, and two of them are playing in this series. It may also be baseball's first all-indoor championship: the Rays play under Tropicana Field's fixed dome, and the Brewers' American Family Field has a retractable roof.
The series shifts to St. Petersburg for Games 3 through 5, from October 26 to 28, before returning to Milwaukee, if needed, for Games 6 and 7 on October 30 and 31.
Why it matters
In a sport dominated by big spenders, two development-driven, small-market teams are contesting the title — an awkward fact for owners who argue a salary cap is needed for competitive balance, with the league's labour deal expiring on December 1. For the fans in Milwaukee and Tampa Bay, though, the economics are secondary: one of them is about to end a wait that has lasted generations.
Reporting based on the Associated Press and NBC Sports.