And then there were four! We’re down to the last four teams vying for the World Series, and by the middle of next week, we’ll have that matchup set. The Brewers are set to take on the Dodgers for the National League pennant, while the American League features the Rays against the Guardians.
This space will remain open through the entire NLCS/ALCS, so feel free to use it as a place to centralize your discussion, especially when it comes to the Rays-Guardians series.
Tampa Bay Rays vs. Cleveland Guardians
(TBS & HBO Max)
The Rays steamrolled through their division rival Yankees, as the only team to sweep in the Division Series round. That means they’re set up extremely well for the ALCS, as they’ve only used three starting pitchers and their entire pitching staff should be rested up enough to pitch without issue. They’ve been pretty solid offensively with a balanced attack, as Jonathan Aranda, Junior Caminero, and Yandy Díaz lead the way. Victor Mesa Jr. and Ryan Vilade both homered in the ALDS, and they also have plenty of speed, swiping three bags in the ALDS and 164 during the regular season, good for second in the majors. On the other side, the Guardians stormed back from a 2-0 deficit in their ALDS, winning three straight (including two on the road) to take down the White Sox and advance to the ALCS. The Guardians are roughly middle of the pack on both sides of the ball, but they do have a solid top of the rotation with Parker Messick and Gavin Williams. Offensively, they’re led by potential future Hall of Famer José Ramírez.
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Milwaukee Brewers vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (FOX/FS1 & FOX One)
The Brewers and Dodgers both got through the NLDS in four games, meaning they’re lined up well for the NLCS with three off days in between play. The story of this series will be the pitching, as the Brewers are anchored by Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson atop the rotation, while the Dodgers have plenty of veterans in the form of Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell, and Tarik Skubal, as well as staff ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Don’t overlook these offenses either — the Dodgers have the big names in Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Andy Pages, Max Muncy, Kyle Tucker, Will Smith, and Teoscar Hernández, but the Brewers have a scrappy, young team that can give opposing defenses fits. They also have some veteran leadership in the form of Christian Yelich, William Contreras, Brice Turang, and, even though he’s only 22, outfielder Jackson Chourio, who is in his third playoff campaign. Check out our full series preview here. This should be a really fun series to watch.
