Category: Baseball

Tonight’s game is possibly the last baseball game of 2026, and maybe from then on the last game of baseball for quite a while, depending on how the lockout goes. As such, we are rooting very hard for the Rays to keep the World Series going because despite our various preferences as a staff, first and foremost we are on team More Baseball. So: let’s go Rays.

Lineups:

Richie Palacios returns to the Rays starting lineup. Griffin Jax will be tasked with trying to keep the Rays from being swept out of the World Series.

Dustin May, one of my Least Favorite Pitchers to Watch, will take the ball for the Brewers. Again, I say, let’s go Rays.

Game time: 5 PT

FOX and FOX Sports One

The Milwaukee Brewers will try to lock up a world championship Tuesday night as they take a 3-0 series lead into Tropicana Field. The Rays will start RHP Griffin Jax while the Brewers will reportedly start Dustin May. First pitch is scheduled for 7pm central time and the game broadcast will be available via Fox.

No team has ever rallied from an 0-3 deficit in the World Series, and only the 2004 Boston Red Sox have done it in any best-of-seven playoff series. That is the task now before the Tampa Bay Rays. The Brewers were the ones who had to wait almost a week between the League Championship and the World Series, but somehow they’ve been the club that hasn’t missed a beat. Meanwhile, a Rays lineup that has cooked all season long has run out of gas, while they’ve only made it tougher on themselves by running into a ton of outs on the basepaths.

The Brewers are hunting their first World Series in franchise, and they look dead set on getting it ton as soon as possible. We’ll see if the Rays can put up a fight and make a bit of a series out of it, but the Brewers appear inevitable at this point.

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

Broadcast: FOX

SB Nation Sites: DRaysBay/Brew Crew Ball

Pitching Matchup: RHP Dustin May (0-0, 5.63 ERA) vs. RHP Griffin Jax (0-1, 6.00 ERA)

Tonight could see the great city of Milwaukee inundated in a collective inebriation not seen in decades. Their mighty Brewers sit on the cusp of a World Series title after seizing a commanding 3-0 lead over their rivals the Tampa Bay Rays, the latter of whom now must achieve the impossible if they’re to hang their first banner in Tropicana Field.

The Rays will at least have their home field on which to lean in Game 4, as the Trop will again be the host site for the action. That was anything but a good thing for Tampa in Game 3, however, as the Brewers hitting machine sliced and carved them to pieces in a 10-1 rout that sent the Rays to the brink.

All hands will obviously be on-deck for Tampa in what could end up being the final Major League Baseball game played for awhile, what with the December 1st expiration of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and the looming lockout from owners on the docket. Griffin Jax will be tasked with the start, though Tampa will obviously have a quick hook if need be – something that yesterday’s drubbing exacerbated as they needed to turn away from starter Freddy Peralta earlier than anyone had hoped.

Dustin May will toe the rubber for Milwaukee as they look to clinch. First pitch is set for just after 8:00 PM ET, with coverage once again on FOX.

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

Best of luck to Milwaukee. I expect there to be some serious celebrating of the works of the Plank Road Brewery.

Do you hear that sound? It’s the sound of every Wisconsinite getting out their decorative beer mugs in preparation for a win tonight and their first World Series championship…ever.

The Brewers are up 3-0 on the Rays, and the chances that Milwaukee gets the series eventually are very, very high. Still, I’m a little surprised they aren’t turning to Jacob Misiorowski here. Yes, it’s on short rest, but he is very clearly their best pitcher. Him pitching today means that he’d also be available in Game 7 a la He Who Shall Not Be Named from the 2014 World Series.

Instead, Dustin May and his 5.64 ERA with Milwaukee this year will be pitching. If there was a chance for Tampa to eke out a win (or start a comeback), it seems like today would be the day.

Brewers lineup

Rays lineup

TBD

Go Rays!

And it all comes down to this.

Last night, the Milwaukee Brewers dominated the Tampa Bay Rays in a 10-2 blowout (that saw old friend Antonio Senzatela throwing two quality innings in relief).

Tonight may mark the end of the 2026 MLB season if the red hot Brewers can complete the sweep — and nothing we’ve seen so far suggests they won’t. That means the home team enters this one as an underdog.

The Brewers will send Dustin May to the mound to start game. The righty is 0-0 in postseason play and has a 5.63 ERA. He was struck out five.

Starting for the Rays is RHP Griffin Jax. He is 0-1 in the postseason with a 6.00 ERA that includes six strikeouts.

Milwaukee Brewers (3-0) at Tampa Bay Rays (0-2) – 6 p.m. MDT

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

SB Nation sites: DRaysBay | Brew Crew Ball

Radio: ESPN Radio

TV: FOX

Lineups:

For the visiting Brewers:

And the home Rays:

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

Brewers lineup

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

SP: Dustin May – RHP

Rays lineup

Yandy Diaz – DH
Jonathan Aranda – 1B
Junior Caminero – 3B
Liam Hicks – C
Jonny DeLuca – CF
Chandler Simpson – LF
Ryan Vilade – RF
Richie Palacios – 2B
Taylor Walls – SS

SP: Griffin Jax – RHP

Broadcast info

Time: 8:00 PM EDT
TV: FOX / FOX ONE, Fox Deportes
Radio: ESPN Radio

I don’t want the Rays to win the World Series. I didn’t want them to win before Game 1, and I ESPECIALLY don’t want them to win it now that they’re down three games to none, because I don’t want any team other than the 2004 Red Sox to ever win after being down three games to none ever again. This is very important to me.

Having said that, my God, Rays, please win tonight. There are few more depressing days than the first few days after the baseball season ends, when the rhythm that has dictated your life since late March suddenly disappears. You don’t notice its absence on the first day after the series. Maybe you don’t notice it on the second day, either. But that third day is brutal. The third day brings that realization that the foreseeable future is dark and cold and has nothing for you at 7:10 PM on a Tuesday night.

Moreover, it’s been a lackluster postseason and we deserve a good series. Griffin Jax will take the mound at 8 on FOX for the Rays to try to give us one. He’ll be opposed by … wait, really? This isn’t a typo or some kind of Mandela Effect thing going on? Really? REALLY?Okay, sure, whatever. Life is mysterious and unknowable, I guess… Dustin May.

It’s win or go home for the Rays.

If the Brewers take Game 4, it will not only be the first title in their history, but also the first World Series sweep since 2012, when the Giants swept the Tigers.

I’d like to see the Rays win tonight if for no other reasons than this: More baseball is always good, and we don’t know when MLB players will next take the field after this World Series due to the looming owners’ lockout.

7 p.m. CT: Brewers at Rays (Brewers lead series 3-1)

TV: Fox-TV, Fox One (streaming). Announcers: Joe Davis, John Smoltz, Ken Rosenthal and Tom Verducci.

TBD vs. Griffin Jax, RHP

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com preview

The 2026 World Series shifted to Tampa Bay for Game 3 on Monday night, but the change in scenery failed to slow the Milwaukee Brewers. The National League champions won 10-1 to move within one victory of their first World Series title. After scoring two runs in the third inning, the Brew Crew erupted for eight runs with two outs in the fifth. Left-hander Robert Gasser was unfazed by the hostile road environment, allowing one hit over six scoreless innings.

The Rays are fighting history, as no team has ever overcome an 0-3 deficit in the World Series. Tampa Bay must win Game 4 tonight to keep its season alive and force a Game 5 on Wednesday. However, the Brewers are looking to finish the series in four games and join the 1976 Cincinnati Reds as the only teams to sweep both the NLCS and the World Series.

Rays at Brewers (5:00 PST)

Through three games, the Brewers have simply been the better team. Milwaukee’s offense has delivered more clutch hits, while its starters and relievers have outperformed their Rays counterparts. Both teams feature strong bullpens, but Tampa Bay’s relief corps faltered at the worst possible time. If the Rays hope to begin a comeback, they must generate more offense and eliminate defensive and base running errors.

The Rays will turn to right-hander Griffin Jax for the biggest start of his career. Jax has struggled this postseason, allowing four earned runs in six innings over two appearances. Earlier this year, the Brewers scored five runs against him in an outing in which he recorded just three outs. Facing elimination, Rays manager Kevin Cash will keep Jax on a short leash and pull him early if he runs into trouble.

Here’s how the Rays stack up for this must-win Game 4:

The Brewers will counter with right-hander Dustin May. He has made four appearances this postseason, but only one was a start, in which he lasted three innings. Given that, May likely will serve as the opener, pitching two or three innings before handing the ball to left-hander Shane Drohan or another Brewers pitcher.

And here is the Brew Crew’s starting lineup:

Will the Brewers complete the sweep, or will the Rays stave off elimination? Who do you got? Should be exciting either way!

We have Game 4 of the World Series this evening, and with the Brewers holding a commanding 3-0 lead, its very possible this is the last major league baseball game we will have in 2026.

It is a 7:00 p.m. Central start time on Fox.

Talk about it here.

Baseball's first World Series was played in 1903 with the Boston Americans defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates that October.

The New York Yankees have won more championships – 27 – than any other team in history. Entering 2026, 25 of Major League Baseball's current 30 franchises have won a championships with the Milwaukee Brewers-Tampa Bay Rays series set to crown a first-time winner.

Here's a look back at all of MLB's World Series champions

Can the Brewers clinch it tonight?

Can the Rays extend the series, and the MLB season, yet another day?

Can we talk about it? Yes we can!

A former Yankee opened up after Jorge Posada revealed he no longer feels welcome by the organization he helped lead to four World Series titles. 

Former hard-throwing reliever Joba Chamberlain took to social media Tuesday afternoon to indicate how much the comments say about the current situation in The Bronx for Posada to publicly reveal his feelings, which were aired out during an appearance on The Post’s “The Show” podcast hosted by Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman.

“Says a lot coming from him, just saying,” Chamberlain wrote on X. 

In a separate post responding to a fan, Chamberlain, who was part of the 2009 World Series-winning Yankees squad with Posada, wrote that it “seems like there are some that they love that are still around.” 

Replying to a fan who opined that the Yankees “look down on former players,” Chamberlain wrote, “Who knows anymore.” 

Chamberlain and Posada played together from 2007 through 2011.

Posada was asked by Heyman and Sherman about possibly helping the Yankees when he made the surprising comments. 

“I mean, I could, but I don’t think they want me there, to tell you the truth,” said Posada, who was inducted into Monument Park and had his No. 20 retired in 2015. 

“I don’t feel welcome when I go there, you know? Even in spring training, I don’t feel like — I’m just like, I don’t know, like, I don’t feel welcome. I don’t feel like they want me there, so I don’t go.”

Posada spent 17 years with the Yankees from 1995 to 2011 and was a fan favorite during the dynasty run.

The Yankees great has been around the franchise over the years, having been in attendance for several Old Timers’ Days and being on hand for the 25th anniversary of the Bronx Bombers’ Championship team in 2023. He was also part of the pregame ceremony on Sept. 11 in remembrance of the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks.

Posada did not give a specific moment that has led him to feel unwelcome by the Yankees, but did reference the end of his career with the franchise in 2011, when he publicly disagreed with the team over his playing time and his use as a designated hitter. 

“I don’t know what happened. I’d rather just move forward,” Posada said. “My last season of my career was a really tough one when it comes to handling everything in my part and also the Yankees toward Jorge Posada.

“So, it’s tough to go back and feel that again.”