The Milwaukee Brewers have made the World Series for the first time since 1982 and enter the series as the favorite against the Tampa Bay Rays. One of the most fun aspects of the series is that both teams are vying for their first-ever World Series title.
While the Rays, in their 29th season of existence, have played in the World Series twice since 2008, the Brewers are in the Fall Classic for just the second time in franchise history and the first since joining the National League in 1998.
Why could this finally be the year for the Brewers (other than that they’re awesome)? Let’s dive in with the three biggest reasons.
1. A well-rounded offense
The Brewers scored the second-most runs in baseball in 2026, getting them home in numerous ways
At 832 runs in 162 games (5.14 runs per game), the Brewers ranked second in the majors in the regular season in scoring. How’d they get there? In any way you can imagine.
The Brewers were first in batting average (.258) and on-base percentage (.341), which is a killer combination. Though they didn’t rank highly in home runs (154, tied for 28th), they were fifth in doubles (279) and sixth in triples (26). They flash speed on the bases, sitting fifth in stolen bases (162). You’ll hear plenty in this series about «small ball» (mostly because the two teams are known as small-market ballclubs and it’s a convenient talking point) and the Brewers were fifth in sac bunts (37).
The Brewers are a «little things» team. They don’t beat themselves and find ways to excel on the margins. In addition to the bunting and base-stealing, they rarely hit into double plays.
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Also, there’s been plenty of talk about the lack of home runs, and it’s true that the Brewers finished tied for 28th in homers as a team this season. That doesn’t mean there’s a total void of power. Some of the issues were early in the season. The Brewers slugged .430 in September, compared to .398 before the All-Star break.
William Contreras has more power potential than shown by the 18 home runs he hit during the season. Jake Bauers emerged with 26 homers and had a huge blast in the last round. Brice Turang isn’t a traditional power hitter, but he hit 21 in the regular season. Jackson Chourio missed time with an injury but still hit 25 in his 127 games. Remember, he’s only 22 years old, too.
The Brewers have hit 10 home runs in their seven playoff games thus far, including some absolute monster blasts, timing-wise.
Probably the best way to phrase it is that the Brewers can hit home runs, but they just don’t rely on it. They are well-rounded.
2. Excellent run prevention
High-end starters, an excellent bullpen and stellar defense? Milwaukee has it all
Behind probable Cy Young winner Jacob Misiorowski and emerging frontline starter Logan Henderson, the Brewers sported a great rotation in 2026. The bullpen is outstanding, too.
In the regular season, the Brewers’ team ERA was 3.51, the second-lowest in baseball. They miss bats, sitting second in strikeouts (1544), and also do a nice job of keeping guys off base, as they were fourth in WHIP (1.18).
When the ball is put in play, Brewers pitchers can trust their defense. Only six teams committed fewer errors. Range is plenty important, too, and the Brewers rate highly nearly all over the diamond. They were fifth in outs above average, which accounts for range in its calculation. Defensive efficiency measures the percentage of balls put into play that are converted into outs. The Brewers were sixth there at .712.
Turang and Chourio are the stars here, but it’s a great group as a whole.
And that bullpen can be killer. You’ll see contributions from the likes of DL Hall, JoJo Romero and others, but especially from the big guns:
- Aaron Ashby can cover multiple innings. He had 116 strikeouts in 89 ⅓ regular-season innings. So far in the playoffs? Ridiculous. He hasn’t allowed a run in 12 ⅓ innings of work.
- Abner Uribe has nasty stuff and showed it with a 1.97 ERA in the regular season. He’s had one rough postseason outing, but that was an outlier.
- Trevor Megill was one of baseball’s best closers this season and has five scoreless playoff outings.
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3. They’re the best team
After 103 regular-season wins, the Brewers are 7-1 in the playoffs
Sure, it’s obvious, but it’s true. The Brewers had the best record in baseball in the regular season at 103-59. They had the best run differential at +214 (the Rays were at +86 with a 98-64 record). The Brewers have gone 7-1 so far in the playoffs, too, and are now 110-60 this season. They started 13-13 and then were «only» 18-16. Since then, they’ve just gone absolutely bonkers with winning.
They’re exceptional at home (59-26 with the playoffs included) and still pretty great on the road (51-34, playoffs included).
The best team doesn’t always win in a seven-game series in a sport that has a 162-game marathon of a regular season. We saw the playoff team with the worst record win it all in 2021 and a 90-win team take the title two years later. Still, generally speaking, being the best team is a pretty good formula to win.
The Brewers have been the best team in baseball since early May.
