2026 World Series: Rays-Brewers Schedule, Preview, and How to Watch

Baseball is about to crown a brand-new champion. For the first time since 2016, the World Series skips both Texas and California, and when the last out is recorded, either the Tampa Bay Rays or the Milwaukee Brewers will hoist the first title in franchise history. The Fall Classic opens Friday, October 23 at 8PM ET, every game airs on FOX, and you can watch all of it — from the first pitch to the last out — with DISH. Catch every pitch live: Get DISH and start watching.

The Rays got here by closing out the Cleveland Guardians in six games in the ALCS, their third trip to the World Series. The Brewers, the top seed in the National League, are back in the Fall Classic for the first time since they fell to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games in 1982. Both franchises are the blueprint for small-market baseball, breaking through in an era built to reward the big spenders in the biggest media markets.

There's an edge to this one, too. With the future of the sport unsettled after these seven games, this could be the last pro baseball on the schedule for a while. Enjoy it.

Where to watch the 2026 World Series

Every game of the 2026 World Series airs on FOX, and FOX comes with every DISH package, starting with America's Top 120. That is the whole requirement — no add-on, no upgrade, no second package to chase down.

Every game airs on FOX — watch with DISH in America's Top 120 and up.

Because FOX is a local channel, your affiliate's channel number and availability depend on your market, so check your local FOX listing in your area before Game 1. Once you're set, record all seven potential games on the Hopper 3 DVR, which captures up to 16 channels at once and holds hundreds of hours in HD, then pick them back up from the couch or the road on DISH Anywhere.

2026 World Series schedule

All times ET. Games 5, 6, and 7 are played only if necessary.

2026 World Series preview: Tampa Bay Rays vs. Milwaukee Brewers

The headline of this World Series is small-market supremacy. Whoever wins will carry the lowest payroll of any champion since the 1994-95 work stoppage. It is also the first Fall Classic since 1980 to pit two teams both chasing a first title, and the first ever between two expansion franchises — the Brewers joined the league in 1969, the "Devil" Rays in 1998.

Don't mistake that for luck. The top-seeded Brewers reached the NLCS a year ago and just set a new franchise record with 103 wins. The Rays topped the American League and did it with a nearly rebuilt roster: Yandy Díaz is the only name left from the 2020 pennant team. Even after losing stars like Randy Arozarena, Blake Snell, and Tyler Glasnow, Tampa Bay reloaded a World Series roster out of the toughest division in the AL. That is hard to overstate.

Both clubs got here the way the best ones always do — clutch hitting married to elite pitching. Milwaukee's ace is Jacob Misiorowski, who led the majors in both ERA and strikeouts and became the first Brewers starter ever to post a sub-2.00 ERA across 20-plus starts. He and Logan Henderson form a brutal one-two punch in front of a bullpen that has been lights-out all Postseason. At the plate, NLCS MVP Jake Bauers turned in at-bats that hitting coaches will be teaching for years. Alongside left fielder Jackson Chourio and catcher William Contreras, Milwaukee's bats have defined clutch this October — six of the Brewers' seven Postseason wins have been come-from-behind.

Tampa Bay answers with Drew Rasmussen, the expected Game 1 starter, who has been untouchable with an 11-0 record and a 1.73 ERA across 15 starts since the All-Star break. There's a personal thread, too: Milwaukee drafted and later traded him five years ago. The Rays also raided their trade deadline for former Brewer Freddy Peralta, who just took home ALCS MVP honors. Tampa Bay's lineup is built on peerless scouting, and this year's standout is 23-year-old third baseman Junior Caminero, who put up a .276/.360/.524 line with 42 home runs, 101 RBI, 100 runs, and an .885 OPS while playing all 162 games.

This series may not come with marquee payrolls or household superstars, but it should be a tight, hard-fought Fall Classic between two teams that have already mastered the small-market savvy the rest of the league may soon be forced to copy. Don't miss a single out: Get DISH.

2026 Milwaukee Brewers World Series roster

Projected Game 1 lineup

Key players

Jacob Misiorowski (RHP): 16-5, 1.80 ERA, 174⅔ IP, 252 K, 44 BB, 0.80 WHIP, .157 opponents' average. Led the majors in ERA, strikeouts, WHIP, and opponents' average.

Jake Bauers (1B): team-leading 26 home runs and 75 RBI, then NLCS MVP.

Jackson Chourio (LF): .291, 25 home runs, 75 RBI, and 23 steals in 522 at-bats despite missing the first month with a hand fracture. Still only 22.

Brice Turang (2B): a 20-homer, 100-RBI season as the team's RBI leader, with his usual speed and elite defenseyers.

2026 Tampa Bay Rays World Series roster

Projected Game 1 lineup

Key players

Drew Rasmussen (RHP): 16-5, 2.67 ERA, 172 IP, 174 K, 0.91 WHIP across 30 starts — and 11-0 with a 1.73 ERA over his final 15.

Freddy Peralta (RHP): ALCS MVP and a former longtime Brewer, with a combined New York Mets and Tampa Bay regular season.

Junior Caminero (3B): .276/.360/.524 with 42 home runs, 101 RBI, 100 runs, and an .885 OPS over a full 162 games — at age 23.

Yandy Díaz (DH/1B): led the AL with 180 hits and hit .293 (third in the AL), with a career-first 25-plus home runs and an .824 OPS.

Bullpens and roster watch

Milwaukee bullpen: relievers are 7-1 with a 1.33 ERA this Postseason. Trevor Megill, Aaron Ashby, and DL Hall have combined for 23⅓ scoreless innings and a .096 opponents' average, and Abner Uribe comes in extra-rested.

Tampa Bay bullpen: closer Bryan Baker has finished all seven Rays Postseason wins across seven scoreless innings, with Cam Booser the top lefty setup man and Tyler Wells and Kevin Kelly on call for the big righty outs.

No matter how it breaks, this one ends with a first-time champion — and you can watch every inning of it, from the first pitch to the last out, with DISH. Line up the whole Series and settle in: Get DISH and start watching. And with the 2-Year TV Price Guarantee, the price you start the Fall Classic with is the price you keep.