MLB · ANALYSIS & OPINION

The Rays’ Way Leads to the World Series

Tampa Bay’s 7–3 win over Cleveland in Monday’s ALCS Game 6 sends the Rays to Milwaukee for a World Series between two franchises seeking their first championship.

By Bob LePage · October 20, 2026

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Junior Caminero’s home run hit the left-field foul pole in the seventh inning Monday night, October 19. Tropicana Field erupted. The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians 7–3 in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series, winning the series 4–2 and reaching the World Series for the third time in franchise history.

Caminero’s two-run homer made it 5–1. Cleveland came back with two runs in the eighth on a bases-loaded walk and a hit batter. Kevin Kelly struck out Brayan Rocchio with the bases loaded to end the threat. Yandy Díaz answered in the bottom half with a two-run homer of his own, and Bryan Baker handled the ninth. Freddy Peralta allowed one run in 5⅓ innings and was named ALCS MVP.

On Friday, October 23, the Rays open the World Series at American Family Field against the Milwaukee Brewers. Milwaukee won 103 games and then swept the two-time defending champion Dodgers in the NLCS. Neither franchise has ever won a World Series. The Brewers last played in one in 1982. The Rays lost in 2008 and 2020. One of them will win its first title.

Before the season, the Rays were widely picked to finish last in the AL East. Their signing of a 35-year-old swingman, Nick Martinez, pushed their projected Opening Day payroll above $80 million. They went on to win 98 games, take the division, sweep the Yankees and beat Cleveland.

For years, the Rays’ Way has meant finding value where other organizations do not. This October has given that approach another chance to produce the one thing Tampa Bay still lacks: a championship.

The Farm Is the Foundation

Caminero is the centerpiece. He reached 40 home runs for a second straight season, and his walk-off on September 11 made the Rays the first team in baseball to clinch a playoff spot. His go-ahead double helped turn Game 4 of the ALCS, and on Monday he hit the homer off the foul pole. The detail Cleveland fans won’t enjoy is that he was once their prospect. The Rays acquired him from Cleveland in the 2021 Tobias Myers trade, before most fans knew his name.

Chandler Simpson brings a different kind of offense: speed and contact rather than home-run power. Ian Seymour, another homegrown arm, recorded four outs in the ALDS clincher at Yankee Stadium. Jonathan Aranda has been another important contributor in the middle of the lineup.

The Rays also know when to trade from their depth. At the deadline they acquired Peralta from the Mets, catcher Liam Hicks from Miami and outfielder Jack Suwinski from the Dodgers. Developing young talent can help a club on the field and give it the pieces to address immediate needs. Peralta won two games in this series, including the clincher.

The Bargain Veterans

Every winter the Rays look for undervalued players, including veterans who can fill more than one role. This winter it was Martinez, signed for $13 million guaranteed after a 4.45 ERA in Cincinnati. The guarantee includes a $9 million salary for 2026 and a $4 million buyout on a mutual option for 2027. Tampa Bay gained a pitcher comfortable starting or relieving. He started the game that finished off the Yankees and threw 5⅓ innings of one-run ball to help tie the ALCS in Game 4.

Díaz has been a steady veteran presence for years. After Game 5 he said, “We’re going to win tomorrow,” according to the Associated Press. He then went out and hit the homer that put Game 6 away.

Drew Rasmussen, who has come back from multiple elbow surgeries, was central to the Rays’ success. In Game 5 he threw seven innings of one-run ball, using 27 changeups after throwing 12 in Game 1. He is 2–0 with a 1.29 ERA this postseason.

Doing the Little Things

Monday’s first two runs came on Richie Palacios’ two-out double in the second inning. The third came on a sacrifice fly by Jonny DeLuca in the third, a fundamental at-bat that extended the lead. DeLuca also drew a bases-loaded walk in Game 5.

In Game 4, Cleveland’s Chase DeLauter allowed a ball to get past him in the seventh inning, bringing home an extra run. Tampa Bay’s ability to take advantage mattered. The Rays combined power with productive outs, speed and timely contact throughout the series.

Kevin Cash’s teams have long looked for advantages in those details. Fundamentals do not replace talent, but they give that talent more ways to win.

The Bullpen

Monday’s eighth inning showed both the risk and the reward of managing a postseason bullpen. Cleveland loaded the bases, and Seymour forced in runs with a walk to Patrick Bailey and a hit-by-pitch to Angel Martinez. With the lead cut to 5–3, Cash went to Kelly, who struck out Rocchio and stopped the rally. Díaz homered in the bottom half.

The Rays use their bullpen to find favorable matchups. In Game 5, Tyler Wells struck out José Ramírez to strand a runner in the eighth. Baker then converted his 35th consecutive save opportunity, his fifth save of this postseason. Monday’s four-run final margin meant his ninth-inning appearance was not a save opportunity.

The lesson is not that every pitching change works. It is that a team needs enough useful arms, and enough confidence in their roles, to survive when one of those changes does not.

Friday Night in Milwaukee

The Brewers will be the toughest test yet. They have the better regular-season record, home-field advantage and a four-game NLCS sweep behind them. Games 1 and 2 are Friday and Saturday in Milwaukee. The series moves to Tropicana Field for Games 3 and 4 on October 26 and 27, with Game 5 there October 28 if necessary.

The Rays returned this season to a Tropicana Field repaired after Hurricane Milton, playing under the ownership group led by Patrick Zalupski. Their new Tampa ballpark project received city and county approval in August, with a target opening in 2029.

Now it is a small-market team that develops talent against a small-market team that does much the same. Two franchises that have never won it all. Whoever wins, the big spenders will be watching on TV.

MLB lists Game 1 for Friday, October 23, at 8 p.m. Eastern on FOX, FOX One and FOX Deportes.

Sources

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