Brewers seek franchise first as Rays push for Game 6

The Milwaukee Brewers travel to St. Petersburg, Florida, on Wednesday night to face the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 5 of the World Series. A victory for the visitors would secure their first championship in franchise history. First pitch is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET at Tropicana Field.

The Rays avoided elimination on Tuesday by winning 4-3 in 12 innings. That result trimmed the series lead to 3-1 in Milwaukee's favor. The Brewers finished the regular season with a 103-59 record, while Tampa Bay concluded its campaign at 98-64.

Jacob Misiorowski is expected to start for Milwaukee. He posted a 16-5 record and a 1.80 ERA this season. The Rays have not confirmed their rotation, but Drew Rasmussen is likely to take the mound. Rasmussen finished the year 16-5 with a 2.67 ERA.

Oddsmakers favor the Brewers. The money line lists Milwaukee at -154, requiring a bettor to risk $154 to win $100. Tampa Bay sits at +128. The projected total runs for the game is 6.5.

SportsLine's computer model, which simulates games 10,000 times, predicts a higher-scoring contest. It projects 8.4 combined runs and recommends the over at -119. The model notes that the over has hit in four of the last six meetings between these clubs. It is 5-2 in Milwaukee's last seven games and 4-3 in Tampa Bay's last seven.

The model identifies specific hitters to watch. It projects Jackson Chourio and Jake Bauers of the Brewers to reach at least 1.5 total bases. For the Rays, it expects Yandy Diaz, Junior Caminero, and Jonathan Aranda to each total at least 1.4 bases.