Four clubs remain on the October board, with Milwaukee carrying the top spot in the final four, the Dodgers chasing another piece of history, Tampa Bay bringing home-field advantage into the American League Championship Series, and Cleveland arriving after a hard-earned comeback route through Chicago.
The result
The Brewers sit first among the remaining teams, and the case begins with a 103-win regular season that has made this group the standard in franchise history. Milwaukee has never won a World Series and has not reached one since 1982, when it lost to St. Louis. Its most recent October ending came in the 2025 National League Championship Series, a loss to Los Angeles.
There is more than one way for Milwaukee to win a game. The lineup has more depth and flexibility than many earlier Brewers contenders, the bullpen ranks among the game’s strongest, and the club has a dominant front-line starter capable of overpowering any lineup. Jackson Chourio has added to his October résumé with each appearance, giving the Brewers another young presence who has looked comfortable under postseason lights.
But the Dodgers remain the hurdle Milwaukee has not cleared. The Brewers have met Los Angeles three times in the postseason since 2018, and each series went the Dodgers’ way. The latest meeting was a sweep in last year’s NLCS, a result that hangs over a club returning to the matchup with familiar expectations.
| Rank | Club | Last World Series title | Most recent World Series appearance | Previous postseason result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brewers | None | 1982, lost to St. Louis | Lost 2025 NLCS to Los Angeles |
| 2 | Dodgers | 2025, ninth in franchise history | 2025, defeated Toronto | Won the 2025 World Series |
| 3 | Rays | None | 2020, lost to Los Angeles | Lost 2023 AL Wild Card Series to Texas |
| 4 | Guardians | 1948, second in franchise history | 2016, lost to the Cubs | Lost 2025 AL Wild Card Series to Detroit |
Los Angeles is second, though it remains the defending champion and has won the past two World Series. A third straight championship would make the Dodgers only the second club in the last half-century to pull off that run.
The rotation is built for this stage. Tarik Skubal, the reigning two-time Cy Young Award winner, leads a group that also includes Yoshinobu Yamamoto, one of the game’s most accomplished postseason starters. That kind of pitching gives the Dodgers the October baseline every opponent has to confront.
The concern is concentrated in a lineup of accomplished veterans that has not yet found its usual rhythm. Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernández and Will Smith are among the hitters off to quiet starts. Shohei Ohtani has struggled most sharply, has not appeared fully himself for months, and is no longer available on the mound. He drove the Dodgers’ run through last year’s NLCS; Los Angeles needs to see that version of him again.
Tampa Bay enters the ALCS at No. 3 after showing its full range against the Yankees. The Rays can manufacture runs with contact, change a game with the long ball, get ace-caliber work from the rotation and turn the later innings over to a deep bullpen. They also posted the best home record in the Majors during the regular season and hold home-field advantage in the league championship round while pursuing a third World Series berth.
Junior Caminero is the central power threat in a lineup that does not rely heavily on home runs otherwise. Left-handed pitching presents a potential trouble spot, particularly if opponents stack their plans with southpaws. Tampa Bay’s youth is another October question: it can bring energy and freedom, but it also means fewer players have lived through this stage.
Cleveland ranks fourth, but the Guardians have already demonstrated that they will not simply go away. Facing elimination in Chicago, they rallied twice in a charged atmosphere, then returned home and won again to claim the ALCS berth. José Ramírez has been a major reason the offense has shown more life, producing the kind of postseason stretch that fits a player with a future Hall of Fame case.
The Guardians still have thinner offensive margins than the other remaining clubs. Their starters have not worked deep into games lately, and Cleveland has had to spend considerable effort just to get to this point. That workload becomes part of the series as the games pile up.
League championship schedule
- NLCS Game 1: Sunday, 8 p.m. ET, 7 p.m. CT, 5 p.m. PT, on FOX, FOX Deportes and FOX One.
- ALCS Game 1: Monday, 8 p.m. ET, on TBS, truTV, UniMas and HBO Max.
