And then there were four.
It’s time for the American League and National League Championship Series. No more second chances, adjustments or roster moves. It’s time to leave it all on the diamond and win four games to reach the World Series.
One series brings the two best baseball teams alive, period, and one brings a matchup that was impossible to predict before the season.
The Top Two Rematch
No teams were able to catch the Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers in the regular season, and for the second straight year, they meet in the NLCS.
It’s always been the Brewers and Dodgers who met this time last year in the NLCS. Although Milwaukee ended the regular season with four more wins than LA in 2025, the Dodgers disposed of them in a sweep. It was one of their victims on their way to consecutive World Series titles.
“Last year we came off a huge, emotional series playing the Cubs … we had to get up the next day and get ready,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said after closing out the NLDS Wednesday. “I think this is different this year; we have a little more time to prepare. We’re going in to beat them.”
And the Brewers have the team to do it.
This is arguably the best team in Brewers history. Milwaukee set a franchise record with 103 regular-season wins in 2026. They have the potential Cy Young winner Misiorowski, a top-three bullpen and a lineup that just doesn’t give up at-bats.
But a terrifying autocrat stands in the opposing dugout. What makes these Dodgers even more terrifying is that this is their best team in the last three years. With the trade deadline addition of Skubal, the rotation is better, their relievers are healthy and the lineup is mashing, even as Shohei Ohtani looks to make a bigger impact.
But this will also be LA’s biggest test among their eight straight playoff series wins.
Misiorowski needed to improve from his underwhelming start in the NLDS; he withstood a day where his stuff wasn’t elite to snag Game 1. The Brewers supplemented him with a good day at the plate.
Although Milwaukee has home-field advantage, the Brewers are a poor road team in the postseason. They can defend at home, so the games at Dodger Stadium will largely determine this series.
The stars have aligned for these two tyrants to meet late in October. The baseball gods are pitting dream matchups against each other.
This is the Brewers’ shot. But for three years, the Dodgers have been unbeatable in the playoffs.
Rays and Guardians Meet in the ALCS, Just Like Everyone Guessed
According to FanGraphs’ Opening Day projections, the Rays and Guardians had a combined 4.6% chance of winning the American League pennant. Now one team will defy those odds and meet a tough NL opponent in the 2026 Fall Classic.
There are a combined 106 years of World Series droughts on the line in this series.
In the Rays’ 29-year team history, they’ve never won a World Series title. They’ve made it twice, once in 2008 and the other in 2020’s empty-stadium season, but have lost both times. Cleveland, on the other hand, has the longest Commissioner’s Trophy drought in baseball, at 78 years. They reached the World Series in 2016, but lost to the infamous 2016 Chicago Cubs.
This will potentially be the most unique Championship Series in recent MLB history. Both teams have built lineups that rely less on home runs and strikeouts than many modern offenses. Rather than relying primarily on home runs, both teams emphasize contact, baserunning and strong pitching.
Tampa Bay won the most games in the AL and swept the New York Yankees last week in the ALDS. Cleveland rallied from a 0-2 deficit to win three straight games against the Chicago White Sox and advance to the ALCS. In true Cleveland fashion, the team just found a way.
But for Cleveland, there’s a major difference between playing the White Sox and playing the Rays. Tampa Bay has built one of baseball’s most effective offenses, combining strong on-base production with a low strikeout rate and timely hitting. They get guys on base, strike out at a low rate and hit with runners in scoring position. The Rays are the hardest team to get outs against.
Cleveland’s lineup will have trouble keeping up. Cleveland’s pitching staff can compete with Tampa Bay’s, but the Rays have the advantage in several other areas.
Payroll Anomalies
Sadly for baseball fans, these are some of the final baseball games before the sport heads into a messy and political offseason. With MLB’s current collective bargaining agreement set to expire Dec. 1, the league’s owners are pushing for a salary cap. Owners argue that the wide disparities in team payrolls create an unfair competitive environment. But take a look at the final four.
There are the Dodgers, with a $339 million roster, which is the second-highest in baseball. The Brewers, meanwhile, have a payroll of $146 million, a gap of $193 million.
Then shift over to the AL. Both the Rays and Guardians have committed under $100 million. Tampa Bay has a total payroll of $95 million, which is 28th, and the Guardians have $74 million, dead last in MLB.
These series outcomes, and potentially the World Series, will become major chess pieces this winter. It’s proven that small-market teams can win throughout the regular season, but no team outside the top 10 in payroll has won it all in the last seven years.
If the big, bad, deep-pocketed Dodgers win a third consecutive World Series title, the debate over payroll disparities will intensify. But if any other team, especially Cleveland, finds a way, this lockout may not be as bad as imagined.
With so many layers to these upcoming series, they are sure to be a treat.
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