The No. 1 seeds in both leagues will face off in the World Series. Aside from the records, it’s also an elite jersey matchup. The Rays brought back the gray “Tampa Bay” rainbow gradient threads recently. The Brewers leaned into the powder blue this year. They still have the classic cream/navy jersey at home. You can’t go wrong with either team’s fit.

1. Rays win electric Game 6

Tropicana Field was absolutely rocking on Monday night. The only sound louder than the crowd was Junior Caminero’s two-run homer clanging off the left field foul pole. Tampa Bay punched its ticket to the World Series with a familiar formula. Freddy Peralta delivered another strong outing, the premier bats at the top of the order had big swings, and a role player made an impact (Richie Palacios in this case). “This is unbelievable,” Peralta said (h/t Keegan Matheson of MLB.com). “I think I have to see it when I go home tonight and start thinking about it, because I am still in shock. I don’t believe it.”

2. Guardians come up short

Cleveland jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the series. Strong pitching held Tampa Bay’s offense in check through three games. The Guardians’ arms wavered in Game 4 and never got back on track. They also failed to put up much of a fight at the plate. Cleveland has reached the ALCS in two of the past three seasons, but has been unable to advance to the World Series either time. The franchise hasn’t won a championship since 1948. “They played defense better than us, they hit better than us, they pitched better than us,” outfielder Steven Kwan said. “We didn’t beat ourselves, we got beat. As a competitor, you can live with that. I’m disappointed, but that’s a great team over there.”

3. First-time World Series winner guaranteed

The Brewers and Rays are two of five teams that have never won the World Series. The Mariners, Padres, and Rockies round out the list. The group will shrink to four after this Fall Classic. The Brewers have one World Series appearance, a 1982 loss to the Cardinals.  Tampa Bay made it in 2008 and 2020, losing to the Phillies and Dodgers, respectively. The Dodgers matchup came during the pandemic-shortened season with no fans in the stands. It’ll be a different vibe this time around. “2020 was as special as any season I’ve been a part of,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “But saying that, we didn’t have 40,000 people behind us. I’m excited to see what those 40,000 people can bring on Games 3, 4 and 5, for sure.”

Photo courtesy of Jonathan Dyer, Imagn Images