Major League Baseball could crown its 2026 World Series champion on Tuesday night. Up 3-0 in the series, the Milwaukee Brewers will look to sweep the Tampa Bay Rays and secure the first title in franchise history.
The Brewers will send Dustin May to the mound to start Game 4, but don't expect him to be out there for long; this is more of a bullpen game for Milwaukee, made easier by Robert Gasser's dominant Monday start, which allowed its elite relievers to take the night off. The Rays, meanwhile, will start Griffin Jax as they try to stave off elimination.
Games 1 and 2 were tight affairs by the two best teams in their respective leagues, but Game 3 was a blowout as the Milwaukee offense exploded and the Rays hitters remained stifled. Now, the Brewers are one win away from a ring.
Time: 8 p.m. ET | Date: Tuesday, Oct. 27
Location: Tropicana Field -- St. Petersburg
TV channel: Fox | Live stream: fubo
Odds (via DraftKings): MIL -118, TB -102 | over/under: 7
Will the Brewers win the World Series? Or will the Rays stay alive for one more night? CBS Sports will have live updates, highlights and analysis throughout Game 4. Follow along below.
Despite what I eyeballed to be more Brewers than Rays fans in the crowd, it was a loud ovation for the Rays. Of course, now I can hear multiple "let's go, Brewers" chants.
Last night, Joe Maddon handed the ball to James Shields, who, from the front of the mound, uncorked a wild pitch and almost hit someone behind home plate. Tonight, Evan Longoria threw from on top of the mound and delivered a perfect strike. You'd never know which one was the pitcher, huh? Maybe it bodes well for the Rays' chances tonight (hint: It doesn't actually matter).
Will the Brewers close this thing out or will the Rays finally get one and give us at least one more day of baseball?
That would be the record for a single postseason. Four teams have won eight straight games in a postseason: 2004 Red Sox, 2005 White Sox, 2014 Royals, and 2019 Nationals. Also, the Brewers would be the second team ever to sweep the Championship Series and World Series, joining the 1976 Reds. The Reds did it when the Championship Series was a best-of-five, however. Milwaukee would be the first team to do it with a best-of-seven Championship Series.
The Rays have to beat the Brewers four times in a row or else the Brewers win the World Series. Since Sept. 6, the Brewers are 25-4. Good luck, Rays.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- In walking around the concourse here in Tropicana Field and eyeballing the makeup of the fans, I'm gonna estimate it's about 75% Brewers fans. They were chanting "let's go, Brewers" and are generally in a festive mood. The few Rays fans I saw barely were even pushing back against the opposing fans taking over their home. I did hear one guy (One!) yell back "let's go, TAMPA!" but the chant didn't take. He was a lone wolf.
The Brewers are the 26th team in MLB history to take a 3-0 series lead. Of the first 25, 21 of them, and nine of the last 10, have won Game 4. In other words, almost 85% of teams to go up 3-0 finish off the sweep.
Our Dayn Perry breaks down the storylines that could dictate Game 4
Only one team has come back from a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series: the 2004 Boston Red Sox, who beat the New York Yankees in the ALCS. The odds are far from in the Rays' favor, but that's not stopping them.
"There's a lot of belief in that room that we've got to go out and win today, create a little bit of momentum for us. We have not been able to do that in these three games because of the Brewers playing such good baseball," manager Kevin Cash said before Game 4.
"Our staff, we had some text messages going through this morning. I know the players are coming in amped up, ready to go. There's nothing that we can do from the last three games. We can focus on today, which I'm very confident our guys will do"
1. Yandy Díaz, DH
2. Jonathan Aranda, 1B
3. Junior Caminero, 3B
4. Liam Hicks, C
5. Jonny DeLuca, CF
6. Chandler Simpson, LF
7. Ryan Vilade, RF
8. Richie Palacios, 2B
9. Taylor Walls, SS
RHP Griffin Jax
1. Jackson Chourio, LF
2. Jake Bauers, 1B
3. Christian Yelich, DH
4. William Contreras, C
5. Brice Turang, 2B
6. Sal Frelick, RF
7. Cooper Pratt, SS
8. Garrett Mitchell, CF
9. David Hamilton, 3B
RHP Dustin May
