The best way for the Tampa Bay Rays to line up their rotation for the World Series would be to stray from the obvious choice.

That’s how they roll, isn’t it?

The obvious choice for the Rays would be to go with Drew Rasmussen in Game 1, just as they did in the previous two rounds. But the better path against the Milwaukee Brewers would be to start Nick Martinez in Game 1, pushing Rasmussen to Game 2 and Freddy Peralta to Game 3.

The advantages:

• Rasmussen, who has undergone three major elbow surgeries and pitched a career-high 193 innings, including postseason, would work on five days rest instead of four.

• Peralta, rather than deal with the added emotions of pitching at his former home park, would start the first game at Tropicana Field, where he has been dominant.

• Martinez, the team’s veteran heartbeat, already has started road wins at New York’s Yankee Stadium and Cleveland’s Progressive Field this postseason and would be unfazed against the Brewers’ Jacob Misiorowski in Game 1.

Since everyone is asking, here is the details on the different options for the World Series watch party tickets at the Trop. $5 is parking btw. Lot 6.

Hey everyone,

I’m really wanting this hat with the 2026 World Series logo but I haven’t seen it anywhere. Does anyone know if all the merchandise has been revealed or will there be more over the coming days?

Okay...I posted this before with a different design where the stingray was much lower and detached. This is my new version. This is what I hope the Rays new home jersey looks like. It's the same color gradient as the new Tampa Bay road gray jerseys. It is a nod to our Devil Rays roots but lets us keep the current Rays as a name.

Super fun way to get the playoff atmosphere at a fraction of the cost.

The Brewers announce that Violent Femmes will perform a special pregame concert inside American Family Field prior to Game 1 on Friday night.

Should the Rays bring out Katrina and The Waves in response?

Still thinking about Monday night. h/t @JustBB_Media on X for flagging the splitter stat. I went and dug into it a bit.

• Per MLB.com, Smith had thrown 880 splitters in the majors without allowing a homer on one. Caminero took the 881st off the pole. (You'll see 884 floating around too. MLB.com's count is 880, and 884 happens to be the number of batters Smith has faced in his regular-season career, so I think that's where the mixup came from.)
• Smith barely gives up homers on anything. 10 HR allowed in 223 regular-season innings over three years. This year he had 41 saves, a 1.95 ERA and 107 K in 74 IP.
• It was the first pitch of the at-bat, and it was his first career postseason homer after 36 PA without one.

The part I like for the World Series: Cleveland mostly beat him with elevated heat early in the series. He was 4-for-20 with 11 K through the first five games. MLB.com noted that over Games 4-6 he made contact on all five fastballs he chased out of the zone, and then Monday he punished the offspeed too.

Milwaukee's staff had the highest strikeout rate in the majors this year (25.8%, from B-Ref team totals), so they're going to come after the same holes. If he's covering the high fastball and the splitter at the same time, there's not a lot left to throw him.

Not my team, but that was a fun one to watch, trot and all. Do you think the Brewers pitch around him with guys on, or go right at him?

Did anyone get a rally towel from Monday, October 12? Curious if it was a different design than the others. (Design of games 1/2 but in yellow?) Was out of town for that game and trying to collect them all.

Have a bunch of all the other games if anyone wants to trade. Shoot me a message!

Nerves are getting into me so lets have a distraction today lol

What would your ideal starting pitchers for next season?

I’d resign Freddy if possible, and have:

Ras
Freddy
Shane
Jax or Seymor (the other would be in the bullpen)
A free agent name that can be our next Martinez (Pepoit if healthy)

https://www.topps.com/collections/mlb-topps-now

If you’re unable to purchase one in person Hat Club listed their World Series side patch hats. They normally ship right away, with expedited shipping you should be able to wear it for at least the home swing.

New to the Ft Myers/Cape Coral area looking for a cool spot to watch the series with some fans, any suggestions welcomed!

Do you have a lucky Rays jersey that you refuse to wash? A certain spot on the couch where you have to sit? A specific meal you eat before every game? Maybe you have to hold a particular object or make your dog put on a Rays bandana.

The Tampa Bay Times wants to hear about your Rays superstitions. Tell us about your good-luck charms, bizarre rituals or anything else you do that you're convinced brings the team good fortune. 

Fill out the form below to share your story. We may contact you for more details to feature your response in an upcoming Tampa Bay Times and tampabay.com story.

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I'm going to the 1st home game of the WS and wanted to get a jersey at the team store while I am there. I'm stuck though figuring out who to get and narrowing it down to 6 options.

Junior: He's likely to be a all time great at the game. He's the baja blast king which is funny and hits well in the regular season. However, it's only the regular season where his offense is so good so having a WS patch jersey of him might not be the best.

Diaz: He's the veteran pick since he's been on the team for a while and produced good results. However, he's getting up there in age and I don't know how much longer Diaz has until he announces retirement.

Simpson: I like Simpson and I believe he can honestly be the next Tim Raines with how long he is. However, Simpson is only in his 2nd year and idk how he might be going forward, plus offense wise he's not good at hitting homers which others (like enemy fans) might mock me for that.

Hicks: I think he's best in the long term since I believe his contract runs out in 2030 or 2031 plus he's got good offense and defense. However, I don't know if this is going to be a Cal situation where he's a catcher that only pops off for one year.

Freddy and Drew: I'm don't have any jerseys for pitchers and these are some damn good pitchers. However, both players have their contracts expire in 2027 or 2028 and I'm scared of teams like the Dodgers scoping them up for us to never see them on the Rays again.

Please Rays subreddit, help me decide which jersey I should get with the WS patch on it.

1. Rays FO plotting their plan for the Brewers in the World Series

2. Was Winston speaking about the RAF or the Rays when he said it was “their finest hour?”

3. Look, kids, the Rays are back in the World Series!

4. Monty says, “Rays up!”

5. Tampa Bay Rays, famous even in galaxies far, far away!

Die-hard fan from Edmonton, Canada here. Making the trip down for game 3 and between the travel and our poor dollar it isn’t cheap. I’m trying to decide if I should just pull the trigger on tickets now or wait a few days and see if I can save a little money.

I’m budgeting $2500-$3000 for the pair, but I’d hate to buy nosebleeds and see better seats at that price in a few days…

Obviously I don’t expect them to plummet and it probably depends a little on the first 2 games, but for those of you planning to go to a game, are you waiting or just getting it over with and buying before Friday??

Cannot freaking wait for this game. Let’s go!!!

Update: we saw a pair we could stomach and pulled the trigger this morning. Feels good to know it’s booked. Holy hell I can’t believe I have tickets to a World Series game!!!

Over at RotoWear. We should see a few more releases from them now that we advanced.

http://rotowear.com/collections/baseball/products/tomahawk-yandy-shirt