The Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays were the two best teams in the MLB regular season, and they both made it to the World Series to give baseball fans a perfect showcase of the sport.
The Brewers won 103 games in the National League. The Rays won 100 games in the American League.
With strong pitchers on both sides, along with plenty of speed and some sneaky power hitters, too — this could be a closely contest series with plenty of drama.
It could also include extra innings. Recent World Series have featured some epic, long extra innings games.
Game 7 of the 2025 World Series went to extra innings as the Dodgers rallied in the ninth inning and then scored in extras to beat the Toronto Blue Jays.
There’s no telling when one of these games might go extras — but it’s worth knowing the rules if and when one does, because they’re a bit different than the regular season.
Extra Innings Rules in World Series
Is there a runner on second base?
No, there is no bonus runner on second base in extra innings during any of the postseason, including the World Series.
That’s the biggest change from the regular season. Teams play the 10th inning and beyond just the same way they play the first nine innings.
Is there a max amount of innings?
There is no maximum on innings.
A baseball game can conceptually go forever if it remains tied after each inning. The same is true in the World Series.
Multiple times in the last decade, a World Series game has gone 18 innings.
Longest games in World Series history
Two World Series games have gone 18 innings, the longest in history, both in the last 10 years.
The Dodgers won both of them.
Max Muncy hit a walk-off homer against the Red Sox in 2018, and Freddie Freeman hit a walk-off homer against the Blue Jays in 2025.
Can players re-enter game in extra innings?
The substitution rules don’t change in extra innings.
Once a player has left the game, he can’t come in, no matter how long the game goes.
Why Are Rules Different for Extra Innings in World Series?
MLB doesn’t want World Series games to end on the bonus runner scoring.
During the regular season, that’s a great way to save pitching staffs. Games rarely go past the 10th or 11th inning.
But in the playoffs, MLB simply wants the team that wins the game to fully win the game.
Winning via a walk-off run that was placed on second base and didn’t earn its spot on base would feel quite artificial.
So yeah, playoff baseball can go on forever if it wants.
How Extra Innings Rules Work in World Series for Brewers-Rays