World Series 2026 starts on Friday, October 23, at the home of the National League champion. We just don't know who that is yet, or who they'll play. The Cleveland Guardians and Tampa Bay Rays are tied in the ALCS, and the Milwaukee Brewers have taken the first two games of the NLCS from the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The World Series 2026 schedule
It's the 122nd World Series, best-of-seven in the usual 2-3-2 format with two travel days. Both NL contenders finished with better regular-season records than either AL team, so the NL champion gets home field whoever comes through. Games 1, 2, 6 and 7 will be at Dodger Stadium or American Family Field.
| Game | Date | Host |
|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | Fri, Oct 23 | NL champion |
| Game 2 | Sat, Oct 24 | NL champion |
| Off day | Sun, Oct 25 | Travel |
| Game 3 | Mon, Oct 26 | AL champion |
| Game 4 | Tue, Oct 27 | AL champion |
| Game 5* | Wed, Oct 28 | AL champion |
| Off day | Thu, Oct 29 | Travel |
| Game 6* | Fri, Oct 30 | NL champion |
| Game 7* | Sat, Oct 31 | NL champion |
*If necessary.
MLB hasn't set first-pitch times. Recent World Series night games have started a little after 8:00 p.m. ET, which would put Game 1 at 1:00 a.m. Saturday in the UK, and midnight GMT from Game 3 once the clocks go back on October 25. Treat that as a guess until MLB confirms. Game 2 also lands on a busy Saturday night, with the Maple Leafs at the Oilers and a big card on our boxing streams page.
Milwaukee and Los Angeles
The Brewers (103-59) had the best record in baseball, which is how they got home field all the way through. They beat San Diego 3-1 in the NLDS and won the first two NLCS games at home, 2-1 and 7-4. Brice Turang homered in the opener, William Contreras drove in three in Game 2, and the bullpen threw five perfect innings. Milwaukee hasn't won a pennant since 1982, back when the club was still in the American League.
I wouldn't write off the Dodgers (100-62). They're the two-time defending champions, they've made the postseason 14 straight years, and they beat Atlanta 3-1 in the NLDS before dropping two in Milwaukee. This is also the NLCS they won last year, and they've won all three previous postseason meetings with the Brewers. The next three games are at Dodger Stadium.
Tampa Bay and Cleveland
Kevin Cash's Rays (98-64) won the AL East, swept the Yankees in the ALDS and split the first two ALCS games at Tropicana Field. Freddy Peralta pitched well and Liam Hicks had a two-run single in the Game 2 win. Tampa Bay has two pennants (2008, 2020) and is still waiting on a first title.
Stephen Vogt's Guardians (85-77) won a third straight AL Central title and came back from 0-2 down to beat the White Sox in the ALDS. They won Game 1 in Tampa 7-3 and now host three straight at Progressive Field. Cleveland's last championship was in 1948, and its last trip to the World Series was the 2016 loss to the Cubs.
Four possible matchups
Dodgers vs. Rays would be a rematch of 2020, when Los Angeles won in six. The Dodgers would be going for a third straight title, and the Rays would get a shot at the team that beat them six years ago.
Dodgers vs. Guardians goes back further. The franchises met in the 1920 World Series, when Cleveland beat the Brooklyn Robins, and this time it would be the longest active title drought in the American League against baseball's current powerhouse.
Brewers vs. Rays guarantees a first-time champion: two small-market, analytics-driven clubs that have never won it.
Brewers vs. Guardians is the Midwest version. Milwaukee has never won the World Series, and Cleveland's last title came 78 years ago.
American Family Field, Milwaukee. Photo: DiscoA340, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Who we like
The NLCS isn't over. The Dodgers have climbed out of bad starts before, and three games at home gives them a real chance. Still, the Brewers have been the better team all season and their bullpen has been dominant this month. In the AL, Tampa Bay has the deeper roster and the better record, but Cleveland gets the middle three at home and has already come back from 0-2 once this October.
If Milwaukee holds on, that bullpen and home field make them favorites against either AL team. If the Dodgers come back, they'd be short-priced favorites for a third straight title. Either way I expect World Series 2026 to turn on relief pitching. October baseball usually does.
Quick answers
What channel is the World Series on?
FOX has every game in the US, with Joe Davis on play-by-play, John Smoltz as analyst, and Ken Rosenthal and Tom Verducci reporting. FOX Deportes has the Spanish call, FOX One streams the full series (with a three-day free trial on supported devices), fubo carries FOX, and ESPN Radio has the national radio broadcast. We're also streaming every game free in HD on our MLB streams hub, with Spanish coverage on béisbol en vivo, from about 30 minutes before first pitch.
When will the start times be announced?
MLB sets them closer to each game, usually once the pennants are settled. The official MLB postseason schedule will have them as soon as they're out.
