Simulated World Series 2026: Rays steal Game 1 from Brewers behind unlikely hero

How will this year’s World Series play out? Using the Dynasty League Baseball online simulation, USA TODAY Sports’ Steve Gardner and DLB designer Mike Cieslinski will pre-play each game to provide some insight into the key matchups and strategy fans can expect to see in the Fall Classic.

Drew Rasmussen outdueled Jacob Misiorowski in a battle of aces as the Tampa Bay Rays took the upper hand in USA TODAY Sports’ annual Simulated World Series with a 3-0 blanking in Game 1.

The Rays jumped on Misiorowski in the opening inning, when Junior Caminero doubled in Jonathan Aranda for the first run of the game.

That was all the support Rasmussen and the Tampa Bay bullpen needed to secure the victory − although the Brewers did mount a serious threat in the bottom of the ninth before Rays closer Brian Baker slammed the door and preserved the shutout.

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Ranking MLB World Series winners of the 21st century by greatness

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Rays vs Brewers World Series Game 1 simulation

Although Misiorowski entered the game with the more impressive resume, Rasmussen retired the first 14 batters he faced and didn’t allow a hit until the sixth inning.

Rasmussen (1-0) struck out eight and yielded just two hits and a walk in 6⅓ innings to get the win. Lefty Cam Booser retired all five hitters he faced before giving way to Baker to close things out.

The Brewers didn’t go quietly though. After getting the first two batters in the ninth, Jake Bauers and Andrew Vaughn walked around a William Contreras single to load the bases and bring the winning run to the plate. But Baker got Garrett Mitchell to fly out to right field for the final out.

Rays center fielder Jonny DeLuca was the unlikely offensive hero, doubling off Misiorowski (0-1) and scoring in the second inning, then launching a 401-foot solo homer in the fourth for the game’s final run.

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What to watch in (the real) Game 1

▶ Scoring first is key. With both teams starting their respective aces and backing them up with stellar bullpens, runs should be at a premium throughout the series. Tampa Bay got to the Miz early, with single runs in the first and second innings.

Caminero delivered a two-out RBI double in the first to put the Rays on top. Then DeLuca doubled in the second and scored on No. 9 hitter Taylor Walls’ two-out single. It turned out to be the only hit for either team with a runner in scoring position the entire game.

▶ Which Misiorowski will we see? The presumptive NL Cy Young award winner has not been quite as dominant in the playoffs as he was in the regular season, when he won 16 games and pitched to an ERA of 1.80. The trend continued in Sim Series Game 1.

The Miz did strike out 11, but he gave up those key two-out RBI hits and a solo homer to DeLuca in his seven innings of work.

Interestingly, the right-handed Misiorowski was tougher on left-handed batters during the regular season, holding them to a ridiculous .114/.189/.189 slash line − compared to the 209/.268/.314 clip he allowed vs. righties. Sure enough, the three batters who drove in runs against him in Sim Series Game 1 all hit right-handed.

▶ Outstanding bullpens. Both teams have stellar relief options, especially at the back end leading up to closers Trevor Megill for Milwaukee and Baker for Tampa Bay.

In Game 1, the Rays got 2⅔ innings of scoreless relief to back Rasmussen, while the Brewers’ Aaron Ashby and Abner Uribe blanked the Rays over the final two frames. Not using Megill in this game will allow him to pitch more than one inning in Game 2 if needed.

▶ Stellar defense, especially in the outfield. The Rays boast a fleet-footed outfield of Chandler Simpson in left, DeLuca in center and Victor Mesa Jr. in right. All three of them have A range ratings in Dynasty League Baseball, which makes it extremely hard for hitters to find holes. Milwaukee found that out in only managing three hits the entire game.

The Brewers outfield is almost as good, with LF Jackson Chourio (B+ range) in left, Garrett Mitchell (B+) in center and Sal Frelick (C+) the only relative weak spot in right. Frelick is still recovering from a shoulder injury so his throwing is downgraded. (He has a +2 arm rating on a scale with -4 the best and +4 the worst.) That weakness came into play in the opening inning when Aranda scored from first base on Caminero’s double to right, just beating the throw from Frelick.

Keep an eye on the Rays baserunners to see if they try to take an extra base on Frelick.

▶ Expect the unexpected. There’s always a possibility something happens in a series opener that no one saw coming. DeLuca was just the kind of unlikely hero we’ve learned to embrace in previous World Series.

In addition in our Game 1, Brewers third baseman Joey Ortiz was injured when he fell into the dugout while chasing a foul ball in the top of the fourth. He’ll miss the next two games as a result. Don’t expect that specific injury to occur in the real game, but just be aware that nothing always goes as planned.

Simulate your own World Series. Get a FREE one-month subscription to Dynasty League Baseball online by going to DynastyLeagueBaseball.com, selecting the monthly option and entering code USA2 at checkout.de