27 Things That Will Decide the 2026 World Series: 8th Inning

Image courtesy of © Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

Brewers Video

We're past the seventh inning, and now, things really begin to stretch. Happily, we have honest-to-God news to work with now: the rosters are out. Let's dig in on three players you haven't heard much from lately, but who are going to have an impact on this series, one way or another.

22. Christian Yelich's Kryptonite Awaits in the Rays Bullpen
As the venerable Joe Sheehan pointed out in his preview of this series, Ian Seymour is being used as a high-leverage lefty out of the Tampa bullpen right now, because they're a bit starved for southpaws. That's not an especially intimidating matchup, even for the Brewers' lefty batters. Seymour isn't the main lefty to whom Kevin Cash will turn for relief work, though. That's Cam Booser, who poses some bigger problems.

Screenshot 2026-10-23 111849.png

From a relatively low slot, Booser achieves good carry on his four-seam fastball, and the rest of his arsenal slants off the glove side from there. That's a nightmare matchup for Christian Yelich, who struggles to get on top of even pedestrian four-seamers from lefty hurlers. You know who absolutely bashes that pitch type, though? Andrew Vaughn.

It's been a mostly quiet, mostly inactive October for Vaughn. He's only batted nine times all month, though to his credit, he's managed a single, a double and two walks (one of them huge) in those trips. In this series, there will be no obvious opportunity for him to start, as there was against the Dodgers. There's an excellent chance that Vaughn will have multiple high-leverage plate appearances in this set, specifically because the Rays will try to create a Booser-Yelich matchup at moments that matter. If Pat Murphy is smart, he'll counter by forcing a Booser-Vaughn matchup instead. If that means, later, that he has to turn to Gary Sánchez or even Luis Lara in a less desirable matchup, so be it. Sandy Kazmir's matchup matrix shows an expected wOBA of .274 for Yelich against Booser, and a .340 for Vaughn. That's a huge gulf, bigger than you'll see for almost any other imaginable direct substitution. I think it might undersell the actual difference. In any situation that matters at all, it has to be Vaughn for Yelich against Booser.

23. The Man is On the Roster.
I've already said my emotional piece about Brandon Woodruff. It's a wonderful thing that he dodged a second shoulder surgery, and still more wonderful that he's made it onto the World Series roster. If he never throws a pitch, so be it. It's worth it just to say he made it.

Still: you want him to pitch, right? I want him to pitch. Murphy, surely, wants him to pitch. It'll all be a matter of finding the right pocket. I don't think that can be against Yandy Díaz, Jonathan Aranda and Junior Caminero, unless it be in a full-fledged blowout where the stakes are low. I don't even think you want it to be against Liam Hicks, Victor Mesa Jr. or Richie Palacios. The target has to be the bottom end of the Tampa batting order. Woodruff is here because he proved to the team that his stuff can play, at least a little bit. I would guess, though, that they try to get him into a one-inning situation against the likes of Johnny DeLuca and Taylor Walls.

Shape and execution-wise, if this is anywhere near a healthy and complete Woodruff, he does have some ways to get the top third of the Tampa order out. The question is whether this is that kind of Woodruff or not, and though the Brewers have much better information than we do after his live session on the game mound earlier this week, even they don't have enough to judge that very well in advance. So, here's the one exception to the above: If a game goes into extra innings, the very moment that the bottom portion of the Tampa order is due, Woodruff should go in. If he looks right, they should then ride him for two or three innings, if needed. If not, they can still get him out of there before the big boppers can race to the bat racks.

Woodruff took Chad Patrick's place on the active roster. Patrick didn't pitch in the first two rounds of the postseason. Woodruff might not do so, either. If he does, though, the team needs to have both a path to getting real value from it—and a viable exit strategy.

24. He's Here for a Reason...
Don't be scared. It's ok. This might happen, but it's going to be ok. Panic would be premature. Hell, it would be downright wrong. Just meditate now on this eventuality: Kyle Harrison is going to pitch in this World Series.

The halcyon of Gravitron feels like a long-ago daydream. Then again, Harrison did look better at the tail end of the season—only to go even more unused than Patrick during the NLDS and NLCS. (Yes, you can go lower than zero, in this case. Patrick was seen on TV warming up during games, in case he was needed. Harrison never even made it that far.) It seems a little crazy to think he'd get back onto a mound now, doesn't it?

If it seemed crazy to the Brewers, Patrick (or Grant Anderson) would have Harrison's roster spot. Instead, there he is, active and loaded for bear. The gravity-defying four-seamer that made him so good early this year is a perfect fit for the Rays' swings, from the Brewers' perspective. He can be a targeted lefty-killer, or merely force Cash's hand and create bad matchups for Tampa later in the game. He can work to the right areas of the zone to neutralize Aranda, Caminero and Chandler Simpson. He can give you length. All you have to do is believe that Harrison is fixed, and it's easy to see his utility in this particular series—this particular matchup. It's just that you (and I) don't currently believe that. The Brewers will eventually have to believe it, though. They got through two series without using Harrison or Patrick. There's no way they get through a third without using Harrison or Woodruff. Some dice are going to be rolled.

One more inning, and just a few more hours. It's getting real, now. Next time: how the Brewers will win this seriesor why they'll lose it.