Rays and Brewers face off for World Series title

• This year, they're looking to finish the job.

State of play: The World Series pits two smaller markets against each other, with both teams reaching baseball's biggest stage despite ranking in the bottom half of MLB payrolls.

• Milwaukee finished with the league's best record at 103-59 and swept the two-time defending champion Dodgers to reach its first World Series since 1982.
• Tampa Bay led the American League with 98 wins before beating Cleveland in six games to clinch the third pennant in franchise history.

Zoom in: The Rays will open the World Series in Milwaukee, with Games 1 and 2 scheduled for Friday and Saturday at 8pm.

• The team will then return home for Games 3 and 4 on Monday and Tuesday, as well as Game 5 on Wednesday, if needed. The series would return to Milwaukee for Games 6 and 7.

Between the lines: The Rays have weathered plenty of storms, literal and figurative, to get here. Hurricane Milton tore through the region two years ago, taking with it the roof of Tropicana Field.

• Fans can ultimately blame Milton for sending the team to Tampa, first to play out its 2025 season and likely for good.
• The hurricane set off a chain of events that derailed plans for a new ballpark in St. Petersburg and resulted in the team being sold to new owners who inked a stadium deal in Tampa.

The bottom line: The Rays came back to the Trop this season with their days in St. Petersburg numbered.

• With a lockout threatening next season and the team's lease set to expire after 2028, this may be one of the Rays' last seasons in the Sunshine City, and it could end with a championship parade.