Sports · Baseball · 13 hrs ago
Experts favor Brewers and Rays to reach the 2026 World Series
The 2026 MLB playoffs are down to four teams after the division series.
The National League Championship Series is between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The American League Championship Series is between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cleveland Guardians.
In a poll of baseball experts, 13 picked Milwaukee to reach the World Series, while two picked Los Angeles.
Fourteen picked Tampa Bay to advance, making the Rays the more popular choice in the American League matchup.
Most experts who chose Milwaukee expected that series to last seven games, while predictions for the Rays varied from four to seven games.
The two championship series will determine which teams play in the World Series.
ESPN published expert predictions for the 2026 MLB League Championship Series on October 11.
The matchups were the Dodgers against the Brewers in the National League and the Guardians against the Rays in the American League.
Thirteen ESPN experts picked Milwaukee to reach the World Series, while two picked Los Angeles.
Fourteen experts picked Tampa Bay to advance from the American League series.
The predictions included a seven-game National League series as the most popular pick for its length.
- Who
- ESPN's MLB experts made predictions about the four remaining teams: the Dodgers, Brewers, Guardians and Rays.
- What
- The experts predicted which teams would reach the 2026 World Series.
- When
- October 11, 2026.
- Where
- The 2026 MLB playoffs; the National League and American League Championship Series matchups.
- Why
- ESPN asked its experts to predict the World Series teams, league championship series MVPs and what would shape the week ahead.
Milwaukee Brewers
Los Angeles Dodgers
World Series pick
Milwaukee Brewers
13 ESPN experts picked Milwaukee to reach the World Series.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Two ESPN experts picked Los Angeles.
National League series length
Milwaukee Brewers
Eleven experts who picked Milwaukee predicted a seven-game series.
Los Angeles Dodgers
One expert who picked Los Angeles predicted seven games, and one predicted six.
American League matchup
Milwaukee Brewers
Fourteen ESPN experts picked Tampa Bay to reach the World Series.
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Guardians were Tampa Bay's opponent; the source does not state how many experts picked Cleveland.
This year's version will go seven games, and it will be a showcase of baseball at its optimal level -- a shining example of the varying ways teams can compete for championships, regardless of payrolls.
The Brewers will become World Series favorites, with three great equalizers, so talented that they can succeed against any lineup, any group of future Hall of Famers -- The Miz, Logan Henderson and Jackson Chourio.
Maybe I'm just over convicted in my own predictions, but it just feels like one of those changing-of-the-guard seasons to me.
The 2026 MLB playoffs reached the final four after the division series.
ESPN published its experts' predictions for the Dodgers-Brewers and Guardians-Rays matchups.
- NLCS matchup
- Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Milwaukee Brewers
- NLCS picks
- Brewers 13 votes; Dodgers 2 votes
- ALCS matchup
- Cleveland Guardians vs. Tampa Bay Rays
- ALCS picks
- Rays 14 votes
- Most-picked NLCS length
- Seven games, with 11 votes for the Brewers to win in seven
Sources
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