Rays and Brewers set for a World Series of No. 1 seeds starting Friday in Milwaukee

Baseball's two best teams will play for the championship and one of them is guaranteed its first World Series title.

The Milwaukee Brewers host the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 1 on Friday, Oct. 23, at 7 p.m. Central on Fox. It is a matchup of the top seeds in each league. Neither franchise has ever won a World Series.

The schedule

Milwaukee hosts Game 1 on Friday and Game 2 on Saturday. The series moves to Tampa Bay for Game 3 on Monday, Oct. 26, Game 4 on Tuesday and, if needed, Game 5 on Wednesday.

If the series goes longer, Game 6 would be played in Milwaukee on Friday, Oct. 30, with a possible Game 7 there on Halloween night. Every game is set for 7 p.m. Central on Fox.

How they got here

The Brewers swept the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series to reach the World Series for the first time since 1982. The Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians in six games in the American League Championship Series and closed it out with a 7-3 win on Monday night.

Milwaukee's bullpen has carried much of the load this October. Through eight playoff games the relievers have a 1.33 ERA, led by Trevor Megill, Aaron Ashby, Abner Uribe and DL Hall. The Brewers have already won six playoff games in which they trailed at some point.

Tampa Bay leans on its starters. Drew Rasmussen leads all postseason pitchers with 21 innings and owns a 1.29 ERA. ALCS MVP Freddy Peralta will face the team that traded him last winter, while Nick Martinez rounds out a rotation that has let manager Kevin Cash save his best relievers for the late innings.

Stars to watch

Jacob Misiorowski was the best pitcher in the National League during the regular season with a 1.80 ERA. He has not finished five innings in either of his two playoff starts, but he will have plenty of rest if he starts Game 1.

For the Rays, 23-year-old Junior Caminero hit 42 home runs during the season but managed just one so far in the playoffs. It came in the ALCS clincher against Cleveland.

One projection model gives Milwaukee a 59% chance to win the series. With two of the game's best pitching staffs, many expect a run of tight, low-scoring games decided in big late-inning moments.