How will this year's World Series play out? Using the Dynasty League Baseball online simulation, USA TODAY Sports' Steve Gardner and DLB designer Mike Cieslinski will pre-play each game to provide some insight into the key matchups and strategy fans can expect to see in the Fall Classic.
Game 4 in a best-of-seven series is frequently an outlier, especially when it comes to pitching strategy.
Teams may have two, sometimes three good starting pitchers. But what do they do when it's too early to bring back their ace?
In Game 4 of USA TODAY Sports' annual Simulated World Series, the Milwaukee Brewers turned to an old war horse, veteran Brandon Woodruff. Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Rays chose to go with an opener in lefty Ian Seymour, with right-hander
Griffin Jax waiting in the wings.
But pitching strategy ultimately took a back seat to the Brewers' bats as Milwaukee slugged four homers to back Woodruff's outstanding outing in a 9-1 rout.
Rays vs Brewers World Series Game 4 simulation
With three close games packed with stellar pitching already in the books, Game 4 started off in much the same way.
Through four innings, both teams could only manage a first-inning run apiece. Milwaukee jumped on top quickly with Jackson Chourio stroking a leadoff single and coming around to score on Jake Bauers' RBI double. Tampa Bay countered in the bottom of the frame with a solo homer by Jonathan Aranda.
But as Woodruff began to find his groove, the Brewers slowly took control. Joey Ortiz blasted a home run down the left field line off Jax that just managed to stay fair to give his team a 2-1 lead. Garrett Mitchell launched a solo shot of his own to right field in the sixth to double the lead.
And then Bauers blew the game open in the top of the seventh with a mammoth two-run, upper-deck homer to left center that measured an astounding 501 feet to make it 5-1.
Cooper Pratt contributed an RBI single and Ortiz added his second homer of the game, a three-run shot in the eighth, to complete the scoring.
Woodruff, who was just activated for the World Series after missing most of the regular season with shoulder inflammation, looked in early-season form, allowing just three hits over seven innings and striking out seven.
Meanwhile, the Rays hit into three double plays and never had a runner in scoring position until the ninth inning when the game was out of hand.
BOX SCORE: Brewers 9, Rays 1
FULL PLAY-BY-PLAY: Brewers blast four homers in blowout win
What to watch in (the real) Game 4
▶ Wither Woodruff. The Brewers have no idea what they might get out of their former ace, who hasn't pitched in a game since July 4 and was expected to undergo season-ending surgery in August. They added Woodruff to the World Series roster, but would they throw him out there in a pressure-packed situation like this? If not, the Brewers could turn to rookie left-hander Shane Drohan, who posted a 4.19 ERA in 124 2/3 innings over 19 starts and 14 relief appearances.
▶ Jax to open? The Rays pioneered the concept of using an opener to face the top of an opponent's lineup to start the game. While right-hander Griffin Jax performed well after being converted from a reliever to a starter midway through the season, it shouldn't be a surprise if the Rays start a lefty reliever to try and neutralize the left-handed bats of Brice Turang, Jake Bauers, Christian Yelich and Garrett Mitchell − and have Jax come in to give them bulk innings afterward.
In Sim Series Game 4, the pairing of Seymour (2⅓ IP, 2H, 1 ER) with Jax (4 IP, 7 K) combo worked reasonably well until the Brewers started hitting the ball out of the park
▶ Matchup plays. There wasn't a whole lot of strategy in a 9-1 blowout, but the Rays decision to start Seymour did result in the Brewers slotting right-handed hitting Andrew Vaughn as the DH in place of Yelich. Vaughn (a .336/.421/.517 hitter vs. lefties during the regular season) went 2-for-4 in this game and scored a run. Yelich would have been a valuable lefty bat off the bench, but he wasn't needed.
▶ Saving the bullpens. The Game 4 blowout gave both bullpens some much-needed rest, especially with a third game in three days coming up. Both managers will need to have one eye on the availability of their best relievers for the following day if they choose to bring them in during Game 4.
Previous 2026 Sim Series results
- Game 1: Rays 3, Brewers 0
- Game 2: Rays 5, Brewers 2
- Game 3: Brewers 5, Rays 4
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Simulated World Series 2026: Brewers bust open Game 4 in rout
