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The 116th World Series is set to start tonight, October 20th, 2020 between American League Pennant winners, the Tampa Bay Rays, and the National League Pennant winners, the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this will be the first ever World Series to use a neutral site – Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, and only the second time that all games will be played in one stadium.

The Rays finished in first place in the American League East (40-20), and then beat the Toronto Blue Jays (2-0), New York Yankees (3-2), and Houston Astros (4-3) to win the Pennant.  This is the Rays second ever appearance in the World Series, after losing to the Philadelphia Phillies in five games back in 2008.

The Dodgers finished in first place in the National League West with the best record in baseball (43-17), and then beat Milwaukee Brewers (2-0), San Diego Padres (3-0), and the Atlanta Braves  (4-3) after trailing 3-1 in the NLCS.  This is the Dodgers third appearance in the World Series in the last four years after winning the NL Pennant in 2017 and 2018.  They now hold the most appearances (21) in the World Series by a National League team, over taking their former New York City rivals, the San Francisco Giants.  This is their 11th appearance in the World Series since moving to Los Angeles from Brooklyn, and they are looking to win their 7th World Series (and 5th since moving to Los Angeles.)

As the team with the better record, the Dodgers have the home team advantage in Games #1, #2, #6, and #7.

This series is unique thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, with a neutral site, and a designated hitter being used in all the games.

Look for the series to go seven games with the Dodgers winning their 7th World Series.