Rays headed to World Series against Brewers after ousting Guardians

Marc Topkin, Tampa Bay Times on Oct 19, 2026

Published in Baseball

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TAMPA, Fla. — Yandy Diaz hit another one on the barrel.

The Tampa Bay Rays did win on Monday.

And now they’re going to the World Series, starting play Friday night in Milwaukee.

With Diaz declaring after Sunday’s win in Cleveland the Rays were going to wrap up the American League Championship Series on Monday, the Rays did so with a 7-3 win in Game 6.

They grabbed an early 3-0 lead, got another strong start from Freddy Peralta, added a two-run homer from Junior Caminero that expanded their margin to 5-1, rode out some adventurous work by their bullpen that narrowed the gap, then got an eighth-inning homer from Diaz to punctuate his prediction.

After Liam Hicks caught a foul pop-up for the final out, the Rays raced toward the mound and started their celebration.

The Rays hugged and congratulated each other on the field, donned American League Champion T-shirts and then gathered for the presentation of the William Harridge Trophy, given the to the AL pennant winner.

Caminero, after yelling “Tampa, this is for you!” during an onfield interview, took a Rays flag, ran over toward the fans and waved it at them then planted it briefly in the turf behind home plate.

This will be the Rays’ third trip to the World Series, as they seek their first championship in 29 seasons of play. The Brewers franchise also has not won a World Series (though the Milwaukee Braves did in 1957).

In 2008, the Rays were young and it was all new for a franchise that had never even had a winning season before. They survived a tense seven-game ALCS with Boston — winning Game 7 on Oct. 19, 18 years ago Monday — but lost the Series 4-1 to the Phillies, dealing with brutal weather along the way.

In 2020, the entire world was different due to the pandemic, and the Rays rolled through a 60-game regular-season and compressed postseason schedule, and three rounds of playoffs (one played at the Trop with no fans, the next two in San Diego) to reach the Series. But their run ended in Arlington, Texas, despite Brett Phillips’ Game 4 magic, and they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games.

This year should be an interesting matchup.

The Brewers won a majors-most 103 games during the season, then dispatched the San Diego Padres 3-2 in the National League Division Series and swept the two-time defending champion Dodgers in the NLCS.

The Rays went 1-2 against the Brewers, playing in Milwaukee March 30-April 1 during their second series of the season.

Monday, before a roaring Trop sellout crowd of 40,230, the Rays grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second, as the Guardians were essentially going with a third straight bullpen-day game plan.

A Caminero single, Chandler Simpson fielder’s choice bouncer, a Victor Mesa Jr. walk, a couple of steals and a flyout left the Rays with two on and two out.

Richie Palacios, facing tough lefty Tim Herrin, laced a ball to right-center that scored both Simpson and Mesa.

The Rays made it 3-0 in the third, though they could have had more.

They loaded the bases off lefty Joey Cantillo as Liam Hicks singled, Caminero walked and Simpson dropped a well-placed bunt the Guardians made no play on. Mesa hit a grounder that led to Hicks being forced at the plate, but Jonny DeLuca followed with a sacrifice fly to left that scored Caminero.

Peralta, who started and won Game 2 and pitched in relief Saturday in Game 4, blanked the Guardians for the first five innings.

They got a run, and ended his night, in the sixth.

Rookie Chase DeLauter led off with a double to center and scored on a one-out single by Nate Lowe, the former Ray.

Lefty Cam Booser took over, got the Rays out of the sixth and through the seventh as well. Tyler Wells and Ian Seymour covered the eighth.

Caminero added to the lead in the seventh off Guardians closer Cade Smith. Hicks drew a leadoff walk, and Caminero lashed a first-pitch splitter down the left-field line for his first homer of the postseason.

He stopped on his way to first to celebrate with teammates and again briefly before crossing the plate to cross his arms, seemingly a tribute to former Rays star Randy Arozarena, who was in the Trop stands.

The Rays seemed headed to a relatively comfortable 5-1 win, but Wells allowed two singles while getting two outs to open the eighth. Seymour then made a mess, walking Travis Bazzana to load the bases, then forcing in one run by walking Patrick Bailey and another by hitting Angel Martinez, cutting the lead to 5-3.

Kevin Kelly came on and got the game’s biggest out, striking out Brayan Rocchio to end the threat.

Diaz hit a two-run homer in the eighth. Bryan Baker, working a third straight day, got the final three outs.

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