Major League Baseball is officially on to its semifinals with the matchups set for the best-of-seven American and National League Championship Series that begin on Sunday, Oct 11.
In the AL, the Tampa Bay Rays have home-field advantage against the Cleveland Guardians, with Tampa looking to get over the hump to the World Series for the third time in franchise history (2008 and 2020).
The NLCS features a Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Milwaukee Brewers rematch from a year ago, with the Dodgers sweeping aside the Brewers – who like this season, were the NL's top seed. But this Milwaukee team won 103 games and features one of the game's best pitching staffs, led by likely NL Cy Young winner Jacob Misiorowski.
The Brewers and Rays are among the five MLB teams
that have never won a World Series title, joined by the Seattle Mariners, San Diego Padres and Colorado Rockies. The World Series is scheduled to begin on Friday, Oct. 23 in Milwaukee or Los Angeles, as both NL finalists have better records than their AL counterparts.
Rays vs Guardians prediction
- Bob Nightengale: Rays in 5
- Gabe Lacques: Rays in 5
- Jesse Yomtov: Rays in 6
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Dodgers vs Brewers prediction
- Bob Nightengale: Brewers in 7
- Gabe Lacques: Brewers in 6
- Jesse Yomtov: Dodgers in 5
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When does the World Series start?
The 2026 World Series begins on Friday, Oct. 23 featuring the winners of the AL and NL Championship Series.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB playoff predictions for Dodgers-Brewers and Guardians-Rays LCS
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