The Tampa Bay Rays won the 2026 American League pennant, beating the Cleveland Guardians in six games, and the Milwaukee Brewers won the National League pennant with a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Both of our pennant predictions were correct.
The Brewers then beat the Rays 4-1 in the World Series, winning Game 5 at Tropicana Field on October 28. No 2027 pennant odds are posted yet: ESPN’s board for the 2027 season carried only a World Series market when we read it at 16:25 UTC on November 1, 2026.
The pennant picks this page published, graded
These are the calls this page carried during the League Championship Series, quoted and graded as published.
| Pick as published | Result | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Tampa Bay Rays to win the AL pennant | Rays won the ALCS 4-2 | Won |
| Milwaukee Brewers to win the NL pennant | Brewers won the NLCS 4-0 | Won |
| Brewers moneyline +148, NLCS Game 3 | Brewers won 6-2 | Won |
| Rays moneyline +109, ALCS Game 3 | Guardians won 3-2 | Lost |
The two pennant calls were predictions of the winner. The page did not recommend new futures bets at the October 14 prices, Tampa Bay -135 and Milwaukee -285. The two Game 3 moneylines split.
The page, last updated on October 21, also said: “The early ScoresAndStats World Series prediction favors Milwaukee”, while saying the -172 price left too little room for a new bet. Milwaukee won the World Series, so the prediction was right, and there was no bet to grade.
The pennant odds on October 14
| Team | October 14 pennant odds | Final result |
|---|---|---|
| Tampa Bay Rays | -135 | Won the AL pennant |
| Cleveland Guardians | +115 | Lost the ALCS 2-4 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | -285 | Won the NL pennant |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | +235 | Lost the NLCS 0-4 |
Tampa Bay was -135 after the teams split the first two ALCS games, a break-even rate of 57.4%. Milwaukee was -285 after going up 2-0 in the NLCS, a break-even rate of 74.0%. Both favorites won.
Both were also the top seeds in their leagues. ESPN’s final standings have Milwaukee at 103-59, the best record in the majors, and Tampa Bay at 98-64, best in the American League. Cleveland was 85-77 and Los Angeles 100-62.
How Tampa Bay won the ALCS
Cleveland won Game 1 7-3 at Tropicana Field, Tampa Bay won Game 2 3-1, and the Guardians took a 2-1 lead with a 3-2 win in Cleveland. Rain postponed the next game, scheduled for October 16.
The Rays then won three in a row: 7-3 and 3-1 in Cleveland, and 7-3 at home in Game 6 on October 19. In that game Freddy Peralta threw 5 1/3 innings, and Junior Caminero and Yandy Díaz each hit a two-run home run. The Associated Press called it the franchise’s third trip to the World Series.
How Milwaukee swept the Dodgers
The Brewers won the first two games at home, 2-1 and 7-4, then 6-2 at Dodger Stadium. In Game 4 on October 15 the Dodgers led 4-0 early, helped by Shohei Ohtani’s first home run of the postseason.
Milwaukee came back to win 6-4. Garrett Mitchell hit a go-ahead home run off Tanner Scott in the sixth, and David Hamilton added a solo shot off Edwin Díaz in the ninth. It sent the Brewers to the World Series for the first time since 1982, a year after the Dodgers swept them in the NLCS.
2026 ALCS and NLCS results
| Date | Game | Final |
|---|---|---|
| October 11 | NLCS Game 1 | Brewers 2, Dodgers 1 |
| October 12 | NLCS Game 2 | Brewers 7, Dodgers 4 |
| October 12 | ALCS Game 1 | Guardians 7, Rays 3 |
| October 13 | ALCS Game 2 | Rays 3, Guardians 1 |
| October 14 | NLCS Game 3 | Brewers 6, Dodgers 2 |
| October 15 | NLCS Game 4 | Brewers 6, Dodgers 4 |
| October 15 | ALCS Game 3 | Guardians 3, Rays 2 |
| October 17 | ALCS Game 4 | Rays 7, Guardians 3 |
| October 18 | ALCS Game 5 | Rays 3, Guardians 1 |
| October 19 | ALCS Game 6 | Rays 7, Guardians 3 |
Ten games in all. Milwaukee never trailed in its series. Tampa Bay was down 2-1 before winning the last three.
How the pennant winners did in the World Series
| Game | Date | Final |
|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | October 23 | Brewers 3, Rays 2 |
| Game 2 | October 24 | Brewers 5, Rays 4 |
| Game 3 | October 26 | Brewers 10, Rays 1 |
| Game 4 | October 27 | Rays 4, Brewers 3 (12 innings) |
| Game 5 | October 28 | Brewers 4, Rays 1 |
Milwaukee won its first World Series title and finished the postseason 11-2. William Contreras was named World Series MVP. The full series, with the picks on each game, is on our World Series odds and predictions page.
2027 pennant odds
ESPN lists no 2027 American League or National League pennant market yet. The 2027 World Series market is up: DraftKings has the Dodgers at +310, the Brewers at +500, the Yankees at +700 and the Red Sox at +1100, with the Rays at +2200 (read at 16:25 UTC on November 1).
Milwaukee is second on that board and Tampa Bay is tied for seventh. We make no 2027 pick from it: a World Series price is not a pennant price, and no pennant board has been posted. The World Series betting guide explains how the October markets are priced, and the season’s other futures are on our MLB division odds and MLB MVP odds pages.