How the Brewers fared against the Rays during the 2026 regular season

After having to wait a little after their NLCS sweep over the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Milwaukee Brewers' first World Series opponent since 1982 has officially been set, and it's a franchise that didn't even exist back when the Crew were last in the Fall Classic: the Tampa Bay Rays. Courtesy of a three-game win streak to wrap up the ALCS, the baseball team formerly known as the "Devil Rays" is now the lone thing standing in the way of the Brewers' first-ever championship.

Here's the good news about this matchup: The Brewers took the regular season series 2-1. The Rays didn't score more than three runs in any game during that set, while the Crew put 14 on the board in the final two contests combined to win the series.

The problem? That happened nearly seven months ago, as that brief visit from the Rays took place from March 30-April 1. A lot can change in that amount of time, especially when it comprises the entirety of a baseball season.

So what, if anything, can we learn from that series?

Brewers' only regular season series vs. Rays reveals the importance starting pitching will have in World Series

I will re-stress that the rosters today are vastly different than the ones we saw seven months ago. The Rays didn't play current right fielder Victor Meas in any of their three games against the Brewers, and starting catcher Liam Hicks wasn't even on the roster yet. Heck, Luis Rengifo (remember him?) started and hit cleanup for Pat Murphy in the first game of the series!

Still, it's worth noting that nearly every starting pitcher performed well, and most are still humming along. The Rays got great starts from Nick Martinez (two runs allowed over six innings) and Drew Rasmussen (one earned over five innings), though their third starter, Shane McClanahan, is out for the season with forearm tightness.

Likewise, the Brewers got a terrific performance from Jacob Misiorowski (seven strikeouts over six frames) in the finale. There were also strong five-inning starts from Kyle Harrison and Brandon Woodruff, though the former hasn't pitched in the postseason, and the latter is a question mark for the World Series roster after a four-month hiatus.

Starting pitching will be one of the key components of the entire series, since the Rays can match anything the Brewers throw at them with their big three of Rasmussen, Martinez, and ALCS MVP Freddy Peralta. Notably, Tampa had the edge in starting pitcher ERA this year (3.51 to 3.61), but Milwaukee has a decisive advantage from the bullpen (3.40 to 3.99).

From an offensive perspective, a lot more has changed, but it's worth noting that each of William Contreras (off Martinez), Brice Turang (off Rasmussen), and Jake Bauers (off since-traded reliever Yoendrys Gómez) hit home runs in that early spring series. Additionally, Cooper Pratt and Andrew Vaughn homered off Peralta in late July, when the former Brewers' ace was a member of the New York Mets. It's hard to carry that kind of momentum across a span of several months, but Milwaukee's power advantage could be key to ensuring the Brewers can back up their regular season series victory with one in the Fall Classic.

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