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Rays Punch Ticket to World Series, Setting Up Title Fight Between Two Teams That Have Never Won It All
Tampa Bay erased a 2-1 series deficit with three straight wins over Cleveland, clinching the pennant with a 7-3 Game 6 victory — and setting up a Fall Classic against the Milwaukee Brewers starting Friday.
The Tampa Bay Rays are headed back to the World Series for the first time since 2020 after closing out the Cleveland Guardians 7-3 in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series on Monday night at Tropicana Field, clinching the series 4 games to 2.
It wasn't a given a week ago. Cleveland had taken a 2-1 series lead, but Tampa Bay ripped off three straight wins to close it out, capped by Monday's clincher. Richie Palacios's two-run double in the second inning and Jonny DeLuca's sacrifice fly in the third put the Rays up 3-0 early, and Cleveland clawed back to within two in the sixth before Junior Caminero answered with a two-run homer in the seventh. The Guardians trimmed the deficit again in the eighth, but Yandy Diaz put it away with a two-run homer that made it 7-3 and sent Tropicana Field into a frenzy.
A First-Timer Awaits
Waiting for the Rays in the World Series: the Milwaukee Brewers, who swept the defending-champion Los Angeles Dodgers 4-0 in the NLCS to reach their first Fall Classic since 1982. Both franchises are chasing a first title in team history — a rarity for a World Series matchup, according to CBS Sports' breakdown of the matchup.
Milwaukee enters with home-field advantage after posting the best regular-season record in baseball at 103-59, compared to Tampa Bay's 98 wins. That means the Brewers host Games 1, 2, 6 and 7, with the series opener set for Friday at American Family Field. The two clubs met three times during the regular season — all in the first week of the year — with Milwaukee winning twice, per ESPN's recap of the pennant-clinching win.
"TWO FRANCHISES THAT HAVE NEVER WON IT ALL, CHASING A FIRST TITLE."
For the Rays, it's just their third World Series appearance ever, following a loss in 2008 and a bubble-era defeat to the Dodgers in 2020. For the Brewers, it's uncharted territory for a fan base that's waited 44 years for a shot at redemption. Whoever wins, a new name goes on the World Series trophy for the first time since either organization's founding — Game 1 is Friday night.