The Tampa Bay Rays shocked the world by going with Nick Martinez as their Game 1 starter in the 2026 World Series.

This move pushed Drew Rasmussen back to Game 2 at American Family Field on Saturday, Oct. 24.

The Milwaukee Brewers fully expected Rasmussen to start Game 1 and Freddy Peralta to start Game 2, but instead, the Rays made a surprising move by pushing Martinez ahead of the two.

By doing so, that likely means Peralta won't have to start on the road against his former team, so that could be a blessing in disguise for the 30-year-old.

Tampa Bay knew there was a lot to gain by giving Rasmussen a full five days of rest, though it also comes with a tremendous amount of risk should this series go all seven games.

Obviously, teams want their best pitchers on the mound as many times as possible, and this pushes Rasmussen back a game, likely giving Martinez an extra start over him.

Manager Kevin Cash knows that Martinez is coming into this one with a normal amount of rest, and that's partially why he made this decision.

Make no mistake about it, Martinez is a stellar pitcher in his own right, but it'll be an emotional night for Rasmussen as well in Game 2 as he's pitching against the team that he made his MLB debut with in his career.

For Milwaukee, they now have just over 24 hours to prepare for a guy who's made two appearances this postseason.

Martinez ended the regular season with back-to-back losses, and his first playoff appearance went just 3.2 innings.

That said, he turned things around with a one-run, 5.1-inning start in the American League Championship Series where he picked up the win in a crucial Game 4.

Overall, Martinez has a 3.00 ERA in the playoffs, and he's fresh off his 10th career playoff game, though his only two starts have come this season.

Manager Pat Murphy has always done his part in keeping everyone on their toes, and there's no better time for that than now.

Seeing Martinez pitch in Game 1 makes a ton of sense, and Tampa Bay is immediately putting a tough right-handed pitcher on the mound to challenge these Brewers hitters who have had a full week off.