Mar 29, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero (13) celebrates with first baseman Jonathan Aranda (8) after the Rays defeated the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Preview: Rays vs Brewers in Series Opener

Originally posted on Tampa Bay Rays on SI
By Nick Ziegler | Last updated Mar 30, 2026 4:47 PM ET

The Tampa Bay Rays will be continuing their lengthy road trip to begin the season on Monday night against the 3-0 Milwaukee Brewers.

It wasn’t an ideal start to the season for the Rays against the St. Louis Cardinals. Despite having a lead in all three games, they lost the series two games to one. A major reason for the struggles was their inability to hold leads.

In the first game of the season, they blew a massive lead in the sixth inning, resulting in a very disappointing loss. Furthermore, with a chance for an extra innings victory in the second game, the team saw their new closer, Griffin Jax, blow the save.

While it was frustrating that the team lost the two games to begin the series, they were able to avoid being swept on Sunday. Furthermore, the offense throughout the series was really impressive, and that is a positive takeaway for the franchise going forward.

With a quick turnaround on their road trip, here is how to watch their fourth game of the season.

Who: Tampa Bay Rays vs. Milwaukee Brewers

When: March 30th, 7:40 EST

Where: American Family Field, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Television: MLB.TV, Rays.TV, Brewers.TV

Midwest niiiiiiceeeee #RaysUp | #RaysWin pic.twitter.com/y05HZbwP0Y
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) March 29, 2026

Unlike Tampa Bay, the Brewers got off to a fantastic start to the season, sweeping their opening series against the Chicago White Sox. Milwaukee might have moved some talent this winter, like Freddy Peralta, but they have done a great job the last couple of years, having talent waiting in the wings to replace what they traded away.

While the Brewers are known generally for their pitching, their lineup has gotten off to a strong start to the campaign. From the top of the order to the bottom, this is a unit that has thrived early on and will be a challenge for the Rays to navigate.

On Monday, it will be Nick Martinez taking the mound in his season debut for the team. The right-hander was a key addition this winter for the starting rotation but didn’t perform well this spring. Tampa Bay will be hoping to see a better version of him on Monday, but it will be a tall task.

Furthermore, with the bullpen struggling for the most part, the Rays will also be hoping to see this unit pitch better than they did in the first series. Overall, this will be a challenging three-game set against a solid team from the National League Central.

This article first appeared on Tampa Bay Rays on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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