The 2026 World Series is officially set, and it comes with a guarantee: a franchise that has never won it all is about to. The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians 7-3 in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series on Monday night at Tropicana Field, winning the series 4-2 and booking a showdown with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Here’s how the Rays closed it out, and what to know before the Fall Classic begins.

Yandy Díaz backs up his boast

Before Game 6, Rays star Yandy Díaz made a bold prediction through an interpreter: “But it all ends tomorrow. We’re going to win tomorrow,” he told MLB.com.

He delivered. According to the Associated Press recap, Díaz crushed a 416-foot, two-run homer off Hunter Gaddis in the eighth inning to give Tampa Bay a four-run lead and all but wrap up the pennant. “Yandy had a claim to back and he did his part,” said Erik Neander, the Rays’ president of baseball operations.

The scoring started early. Richie Palacios lined a two-run double in the second, and Jonny DeLuca added a sacrifice fly in the third to make it 3-0.

Caminero finally goes deep

Junior Caminero, who hit 42 homers in the regular season, had gone 33 postseason at-bats without one. That changed in the seventh, when he sent a drive off the left-field foul pole for a two-run shot that made it 5-1. The AP noted he became the first player to homer on a splitter from Guardians All-Star closer Cade Smith.

Caminero celebrated in style, pointing into the stands at former Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena and copying his famous crossed-arms pose before touching home plate. “Before I got to home plate, I said: ‘Look at me,’ and I hit a homer,” Caminero said.

A tense eighth and an MVP for Peralta

Cleveland didn’t go quietly. In the eighth, the Guardians loaded the bases with two outs, then scored twice on a bases-loaded walk to Patrick Bailey and a hit-by-pitch on pinch hitter Angel Martínez. With the go-ahead run on first, Kevin Kelly came in and struck out Brayan Rocchio on three changeups to end the threat.

Starter Freddy Peralta was named ALCS MVP. He allowed one run on five hits over 5 1/3 innings to earn his second win of the series, after throwing six scoreless innings in Game 2 and getting two key outs in relief in Game 4. “This is not only mine. We all earned this. This is for the boys,” said Peralta, who joined Tampa Bay in a deadline trade with the New York Mets.

A sellout crowd of 40,230 waved rally towels and rang cowbells all night at the Trop, a ballpark that needed major renovations after Hurricane Milton tore up its roof two years ago.

A matchup of title-starved franchises

The Rays and Brewers are two of the five MLB teams that have never won a World Series, so one fan base is about to celebrate a first. According to the AP, it’s the first World Series since 1980 in which both teams are chasing their first championship.

Both teams earned their spot:

  • Milwaukee won a franchise-record 103 games, swept the Dodgers in the NLCS and is making its first World Series appearance since 1982, per MLB.com.
  • Tampa Bay led the American League with 98 wins, swept the Yankees in the Division Series and then came back from 2-1 down against Cleveland by winning three straight. This is the Rays’ third pennant, after 2008 and 2020.

The Guardians, meanwhile, head home with their championship drought now stretching to 78 years. “It just hurts. It stings,” manager Stephen Vogt said.

World Series schedule

According to MLB.com, the World Series begins on Friday, October 23, in Milwaukee. The Brewers hold home-field advantage thanks to their better regular-season record, so they’ll host Games 1 and 2, plus Games 6 and 7 if needed. Tampa Bay hosts Games 3, 4 and 5 (if necessary). If the series goes the distance, Game 7 lands on Halloween, Saturday, October 31. All games air on FOX.

The wrap-up

Kevin Cash summed up the mood in the Rays’ clubhouse with four words: “We got one more bite!” Now Tampa Bay gets its chance against a Milwaukee team that has looked nearly unstoppable this October. Either way, a long wait ends by Halloween at the latest, and somebody’s city is getting its first World Series parade.

Image: Wausau Athletic Park baseball field by Wikideas1 via Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0