Worldwide Sports News

The World Series is back in Tropicana Field tonight. After dropping both games in Milwaukee, the Rays have the opportunity to start to make this series a bit more interesting if they can manage to win at home. Win Game 3 and, well, they’re not right back in the series, but it’s plausible that they could pull the thing off. Lose Game 3 and there won’t be a ton of suspense, at least not unless they manage to find a way to send the series back to Wisconsin.

Obviously, it’s not like the first two games that were played have been blowouts. Each game was decided by one run. Not much would have had to change for the Rays to win one or both games. Maybe as little as a play in each game going a bit more like “we look like a good team” and a bit less like “our defense suddenly looks like the 2026 Orioles.” Yet as far as a best-of-seven series goes, two close losses has the same impact as two blowout losses.

The game will get under way at 8pm on Fox, or at least that’s the scheduled start time. There are often network-induced shenanigans to delay the actual start by a few minutes.

Rays lineup

1. Yandy Díaz – DH
2. Ryan Vilade – 1B
3. Chandler Simpson – LF
4. Junior Caminero – 3B
5. Ben Williamson – 2B
6. Jonny DeLuca – CF
7. Victor Mesa Jr. – RF
8. Nick Fortes – C
9. Taylor Walls – SS

Rays starting pitcher Freddy Peralta was a Brewer when 2026 began. They pulled the “trade a pitcher before his final year ahead of free agency” move with him in sending him to the Mets, though Peralta kind of stunk for the Mets. The Rays gave him a chance and he’s done better for them, including during this postseason. This revival has probably made him a good bit of money in the coming free agency period.

Brewers lineup

1. Jackson Chourio – LF
2. Jake Bauers – 1B
3. Christian Yelich – DH
4. William Contreras – C
5. Brice Turang – 2B
6. Garrett Mitchell – CF
7. Cooper Pratt – SS
8. Sal Frelick – RF
9. David Hamilton – 3B

Milwaukee’s starting pitcher, Robert Gasser, has started one game in each of Milwaukee’s previous postseason series this year, allowing one run over nine innings. One thing that is kind of boring about the modern postseason is that starting pitchers going even five innings is a rarity.

Welcome to our series grading every member of the San Diego Padres’ 40-man roster. The roster being evaluated is current as of Oct. 18, prior to the end of the World Series. Because of that, it will include players who will be free agents once the postseason concludes. Each player will be graded on their performance in the 2026 season, including the playoffs. That performance will be weighted based on how much time the player spent with the team (availability is the best ability). 

Bargain Hunting for a DH

After a phenomenal rookie year in 2018, Miguel Andujar never quite found his place in the league. From 2019-23, his OPS was only above .700 once. Because of that, Andujar was tossed around from the New York Yankees to the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Oakland Athletics to the Cincinnati Reds. He entered free agency ahead of the 2026 season and couldn’t have picked a better time to do so. Andujar had just finished the 2025 season with a .318/.352/.470 slash line across 94 games. San Diego signed him as a big bat off the bench, and it turned out splendidly.

Overall Grade: B-

The lower grade is purely due to his time spent on the injured list. Andujar missed most of June with a hamstring strain before missing all of August and September due to a fracture in his right wrist. Those injuries held him down, but Andujar still managed to produce for San Diego. The slugger slashed .259/.303/.423 with five homers and 27 extra-base hits.

That production all came in just 74 games. Notably, Andujar doubled three times in two separate games in 2026. Only he and Cleveland Guardians star José Ramírez were able to complete the feat this season. Despite his lack of games played, Andujar was still able to produce in important situations for San Diego. He would be a welcome addition for the 2027 bench mix, if the price is right.

Andujar’s underlying metrics make his 2026 campaign quite interesting. His expected batting average (.264) was five points above his actual, but his expected slugging percentage (.376) was a full 47 points below his actual. That would suggest that Andujar was slightly unfortunate on balls put in play but quite lucky with taking extra bases. Whether he can continue that production in 2027 is a truly impossible question to ascertain after this season.

So, the Brewers go down to Tampa Bay, with a 2-0 lead. But each game has been only by the smallest of margins. It’s the first time since 2010 that the World Series has opened with a pair of one-run games. There, Texas beat St. Louis 3-2 in the opener, but the roles were reversed in Game #2, the Cardinals prevailing 2-1. The same split happened in 2002 when it was San Francisco and Anaheim. But you need to go back to 2000 to find the last time the same team won Game 1 and Game 2 by a one-run margin. That was the Yankees, who won Game 4 by one-run too, then finished off the Mets 4-2 in Game 5.

However, there have been four occasions in World Series history where a champion has won ALL four of its games by one run. Two of those were back in the deadball era (both Boston, in 1915 and 1918), but the 1972 A’s and the 1992 Blue Jays both did so. The former World Series had six one-run games in it, the Reds winning the other in an 8-1 blowout. We’ll see what tonight brings, in what feels very much like a “must win” for the Rays.

• Milwaukee Brewers @ Tampa Bay Rays (2-0): 5 pm, FOX

Today’s Reflections

An error and three unearned runs by Milwaukee almost eliminated the Brewers’ home-field advantage. Instead it gave us a fun rally from behind, the battle of bullpens to watch, and put the Brewers up two games to zero. On to Tampa.

I appreciate your reading.

*means autoplay on, (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome). {$} means paywall. {$} means limited views. Italics are often used on this page as sarcasm font. The powers that be have enabled real sarcasm font in the comments.

Free Agency/Pitching Stories:

• Jordan Campbell (Cubbies Crib): Cubs can’t afford to ignore Scott Boras’ warning about pre-MLB lockout free agency frenzy. “He may not be wrong.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): How About Sonny Gray as a Veteran Rotation Option for the Cubs? “Fast-forward to October, and we’re on the cusp of free agency. There, Sonny Gray should be freely available, and the Cubs will have a chance to pursue the long-appreciated veteran righty.”
• Jordan Campbell (Cubbies Crib): Cubs could steal Dodgers free agent to avoid a costly Ryan Rolison gamble. “Time for the Cubs to be proactive with the bullpen.”
• Brock Beauchamp (Diamond Centric): DiamondCentric’s 2026-2027 Top Free Agents, Ranked. “We offer the top 50 free agents, but over the coming weeks, that list will continue to grow until it’s well over 100 names.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Jacob Misiorowski: Dominator of Batters, Teller of Tall Tales? “as we sit here at this moment, Jacob Misiorowski is one of the most impressive pitchers in recent memory.”

Assorted Stories:

• Tyler Courtney (LastWordOnSports): How Has Craig Counsell’s Time With the Cubs Worked Out? “With little playoff success, it is easy to be upset with Counsell’s time as manager.”
• Thomas Domol (North Side Baseball): It Might Not Feel Like It, But the 2026 Cubs Had a Good Season. “Perception became the North Siders’ reality this year. Expectations drove a narrative that flipped the Cubs’ 2026 campaign into a failure in the minds of many fans. A closer look reveals it wasn’t one.”
• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune {$}): Column: Sausage race controversy erupts as Fox Sports ignores Milwaukee’s finest tradition during World Series. “As a proud member of the fraternity of Racing Sausages, I was dismayed to learn that Fox Sports opted to ignore the first-ever World Series Sausage Race on Friday at the former Miller Park in Milwaukee.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Objective Measures of Swingery, Reimagining Realignment, Brewers Are Just Good, and Other Cubs Bullets. “I see continued debate about the Yandy Diaz swing that ended Game Two, which underscores the challenge of not having a hard-and-fast objective rule for what constitutes a swing.”
• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune {$}): Column: What’s up, Bud? Selig lobbies for a salary cap while we’re just trying to enjoy this World Series. “Right on schedule, notorious buzzkill Bud Selig is back to try to spoil your World Series experience.”

Food For Thought:

Pure soul and blues power: The CD “Soul Serenade” released by the German-born guitarist Gregor Hilden in intense collaboration with the American singer blues and soul singer Johnny Rogers. It represents a captivating, grooving musical travelogue through black soul and R&B. Exciting vocals, guitar played with power and feeling, a diversity of saxophone parts and a strong, yet sensitive band are what make up this group. The arts section of the Frankfurter Rundschau daily and Jazz Podium both declared Hilden to be “probably Europe’s best blues guitarist.”

Please be reminded that Cub Tracks and Bleed Cubbie Blue do not necessarily endorse the content of articles, podcasts, or videos that are linked to in this series.

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Matt Silverman, president of the Tampa Bay Rays for 17 years, evacuated with his family to Orlando, turned on CNN, and was devastated by the images, believing there would never be another game played at Tropicana Field.

Erik Neander, president of baseball operations of the Rays, was home without power, drove over to Tropicana Field, and was standing in water in the front office with skylight above him, with the roof blown off.

Rays manager Kevin Cash drove around the outside of Tropicana Field after Hurricane Milton, and thought it was like a horror move, and wanted to cry after seeing the damage.

Now, here they were Monday night, two years and days after Hurricane Milton and its 120-mph winds, ripped the roof off Tropicana Field, leaving the ballpark in shambles, causing $34.3 billion of damage in the area, standing on the field together before Game 3 of the World Series.

You talk about a miraculous comeback.

The series shifts to Tampa with the Brewers up two games to none. But both games were close, it isn’t like the Brewers have been blowing the Rays out or anything. I’m still hoping for seven games.

The lineups:

And it was Joe Siddall’s birthday yesterday, he is 59. So get down into your tradition catcher’s stance (no one knee down stuff) and say Happy Birthday to him, a day late.

Today we have Frank Wills (who would be 68, but he passed away in 2012), Dominic Leone (35, who was part of the trade that brought us Randal Grichuk), and Francisco Liriano (43, who was part of the trade that brought us Teoscar Hernandez) all having birthdays.

The Milwaukee Brewers travel to Tropicana Field with a commanding 2-0 lead in the World Series. They will start Robert Gasser while the Tampa Bay Rays will counter with Freddy Peralta. First pitch is scheduled for 7pm central time and the game broadcast will be available via Fox.

Although the Atlanta Braves are no longer in the running, we have a fun World Series matchup that has yet to disappoint. Both games thus far have been controversial and close in the best way as a viewer. Tonight should be no different.

The Rays will be bringing Freddie Peralta to the mound. Since leaving the Mets, the Rays have clearly helped shape him into his former self as he will be facing his former team of eight seasons in the World Series. Peralta has pitched 16.2 innings so far this postseason and has held a sterling 1.08 ERA in that span.

The Brewers are bringing breakout pitcher Robert Gasser to the mound. Gasser pitched 109.1 innings of 3.87 ERA ball in the regular season. So far this postseason he has pitched 11.2 innings while limiting hitters a 2.31 ERA.

Follow along in the comments as we watch and see if the Rays can keep the Brewers from an almost unsurmountable lead of 3-0.

First pitch is at 8:00 EDT.

After the Brewers relentlessly chipped away at the four-run lead the Rays staked themselves out to in the first inning of Game 2 on Saturday to take a commanding 2-0 lead, the World Series heads down to Florida, and this is the first time since 2023 that Milwaukee has played in the domed confines of Tropicana Field thanks to damages from Hurricane Milton forcing the Rays to play the 2025 season at George Steinbrenner Field. Funnily enough, the starting pitcher that day for the Brew Crew was Freddy Peralta, who will take the ball for Tampa Bay to kick off the ballgame. The Brewers will counter with rookie lefty Robert Gasser, marking the fifth time in history that a team will slot a rookie starting pitcher in consecutive games in the World Series, per the incomparable Sarah Langs.

Lineups:

Ben Williamson hitting fifth! In the World Series! What a time to be alive.

First Pitch: 5:00pm Pacific

Go Rays!

The Tampa Bay Rays have their back against the wall after dropping the first two games of the 2026 World Series in Milwaukee. They should have the advantage in this one with a resurgent Freddy Peralta on the mound,. However, with both bullpens a little more rested after an off day, this will be all hands on deck for the Brewers pen after a short outing from lefty Robert Gasser as they look to put the Rays into a hole from which no team has ever escaped in the World Series. Only the 2004 Boston Red Sox have been able to overcome a 3-0 deficit in any best-of seven playoff series.

The Rays should be helped by the move home to Tropicana Field, at least. The Brewers spent a lot of their time on Sunday engaged in pop-up practice to try and get used to dealing with a roof that is a really tough background to find a baseball against. The Trop certainly has its quirks, and that’s good for the Rays, but they have to stop running into outs on the basepaths. The two teams have been pretty equal in the hitting department, but the Rays have played too desperate from the start and failed to cash in their opportunities.

Time/Place: 8:00 p.m. ET, Tropicana Field, Tampa, Florida

SB Nation sites: DRaysBays/Brew Crew Ball

Broadcast: FOX

Pitching Matchup: RHP Freddy Peralta (2-0, 1.08 ERA) vs. LHP Robert Gasser (0-0, 1.00 ERA)

The Milwaukee Brewers took early punches from the Tampa Bay Rays at home in Game 2 of the World Series back on Saturday evening. Then, they fired right back – all the way to a 5-4 come from behind victory that saw them surge to a 2-0 lead in this Best of 7 affair.

Tampa’s in a bind. Lucky for them, though, they’re finally back at home in the friendly, remodeled confines of Tropicana Field.

Milwaukee will send lefty Robert Gasser to the mound to start, while the home squad will turn to former Brewer stud Freddy Peralta for the game’s first pitch – and, hopefully, another hundred or so after that. Peralta, who went 70-42 with a 3.59 ERA across 931.0 IP with the Brewers prior to being dealt to the New York Mets before the 2026 season – reinvented himself yet again after Tampa acquired him prior to the 2026 trade deadline, and now he’ll get to face his former club in what could be his final start of any sort prior to hitting free agency for the first time.

First pitch will be tossed shortly after 8:00 PM ET per usual, with FOX on the broadcast.

Here’s how both clubs will line up to begin:

Facing a 2-0 deficit in the World Series, the Tampa Bay Rays shook up their lineup for Game 3 at Tropicana Field, benching All-Star first baseman Jonathan Aranda and penciling catcher Nick Fortes into the lineup instead of Liam Hicks against Milwaukee Brewers left-hander Robert Gasser.

Aranda has started all 11 postseason games this year and recorded four hits in Games 1 and 2 of the World Series. He committed a pair of misplays in the field in Game 2, allowing a grounder to go between his legs that enabled a run to score and failing to reel in a pop fly that was dropping near the screen in foul ground.

He was also doubled off second base on Junior Caminero's line drive to third base to end the first inning of Game 1. Aranda is generally considered among the Rays' "big three" bats that hit near the top of the lineup, along with slugging leadoff batter Yandy Díaz and Caminero.

It’s time for the third game of what so far has been a strong World Series between the Rays and the Brewers. And tonight, the crown jewell of the baseball world heads to… uh, the Trop.

As a child of the 90s, I am somewhat nostalgic for gross old domes. The first World Series I ever remember was won in the SkyDome, after all. But now that a 30-year ballpark building boon has transformed the aesthetics of big league baseball forever, it’s hard to stomach games played on plastic grass under a tarp. At least it’ll be loud maybe?

Anyway, while I’m rooting for the Brewers to win the whole thing, I care first and foremost about seeing a long series. Six games minimum, seven preferred, obviously. So let’s go Rays, who will be taking the field behind Freddy Peralta.

Coverage starts at 8, catch it on FOX.