Yandy Díaz and Víctor Mesa Jr. open the World Series with the Rays in Milwaukee

October 23, 2026

Cubans Yandy Díaz and Víctor Mesa Jr. will be in the Tampa Bay Rays' lineup on Friday, October 23, when the World Series opens against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field at 8 p.m. ET, according to MLB.com and ESPN.

Díaz, a native of Sagua la Grande in Villa Clara province, leads off as the designated hitter. He arrives on a hot streak: in the American League Championship Series against Cleveland he hit .333 with four doubles, two home runs, four RBIs and a 1.061 OPS, and he has a hit in every game of this postseason but one. Mesa Jr., son of Cuban baseball legend Víctor Mesa, starts in right field and bats sixth.

Tampa Bay sends Nick Martinez to the mound against Milwaukee's Jacob Misiorowski. Drew Rasmussen will start Game 2 and Freddy Peralta Game 3 on Monday at Tropicana Field. Either club would win its first championship: the Rays lost the World Series in 2008 and 2020, and the Brewers had not reached one since 1982.

After the pennant-clinching win, Díaz made his call: "It's going to be a great series, but we're winning." In MLB.com's expert poll for World Series MVP, the Cuban received five votes.