Rays - 400 000 000 - 4 7 1
Brewers - 200 101 10x - 5 11 1The Milwaukee Brewers have seen their opponents take the lead in eight of 10 postseason games this month – and yet they have rallied to win seven of those eight games.
They were down in the first two games of the NLDS against the Padres and came back to win both contests. The Dodgers held a lead in all four NLCS games, but Milwaukee rallied to sweep Los Angeles for the pennant.
On Saturday night, the Brewers found themselves down by four runs to Tampa Bay before they had a chance to bat. They scored two runs in the home half and chipped away while keeping the Rays from adding to their lead. Sam Frelick's home run to dead center in the sixth, coming mere minutes after Jackson Chourio easily threw out a Rays runner at the plate (photo above), tied the game at 4-4. In the following inning, Brice Turang doubled and scored on Cooper Pratt's single to right to give Milwaukee its first lead of the night.
The Brewers are now 9-1 in this postseason. They have trailed in eight of their 10 games – yet they are 7-1 in those games. They have also won their last seven games, dating back to the NLDS.
For the second consecutive game, a Tampa Bay batter ended the game by striking out with the tying run on third base. Yandy Díaz tried to check his swing on a low 3-2 pitch inside, but he was called out (correctly) by first base umpire James Hoye. Díaz complained, but the replays were clear.
The Rays blew numerous chances to score all night long. To wit:
T2: Mesa on second, 1 out; Díaz and Aranda both strike out swinging.
T4: DeLuca on first, 1 out; Mesa pops to second, Walls takes strike three.
T5: Aranda doubles with 1 out, on third with 2 outs, Caminero grounds to shortstop.
T6: Hicks HBP, on second, 1 out, out at plate to end inning on Mesa single to short left.
T7: Walls walks, steals second with 1 out, on third with 2 outs, Simpson grounds to first.
T9: DeLuca doubles to lead off, Mesa strikes out swinging, Williamson grounds to third (DeLuca to third), Díaz strikes out swinging.
The Rays were 3-for-14 with RATS in Game 2. They are 3-for-20 in the two games.
It was the Brewers' seventh comeback win of this postseason; the other 11 postseason teams have combined for nine comeback wins. It was also Milwaukee's seventh consecutive postseason victory. The series shifts to Tampa Bay where Milwaukee could clinch its first championship as early as next Tuesday.
The night started as well as it possibly could for Tampa Bay. They scored four times off starter Logan Henderson (3-3-4-1-4, 64), quickly quieting the raucous Milwaukee fans. Díaz saw seven pitches before grounding slowly to shortstop; Pratt's low throw skipped by Jake Bauers at first and disappeared into the camera well for a two-base error. Aranda struck out, but Chandler Simpson grounded a single into left-center and Díaz scored. Simpson stole second and Caminero ripped a single to left to make it 2-0. Hicks then became the fourth Canadian-born player to homer in a World Series game by crushing a 0-1 offering into the second deck in right (estimated 411 feet). Rays 4-0.
[The other three Canadians: George Selkirk (1936 Yankees, G5), Larry Walker (2004 Cardinals, G1 (against the 2004 Red Sox)), and Vladimir Guerrero (2025 Blue Jays, G5). )Video of Walker and Vlad here.)]
The Brewers scored twice off Drew Rasmussen (3.2-6-3-2-4, 89) in their first inning. Chourio and Bauers both singled to right, putting men on first and third. With Contreras batting with one out, Bauers took off for second, second baseman Richie Palacios moved towards the bag to field a possible throw, and Contreras singled through the spot where he had just been standing. Palacios could not get back in time, and the ball went into right-center. Turang lined out to second before Garrett Mitchell singled to right. Contreras was off with the pitch and took third, but both runners were left when Pratt fanned.
The first inning took 33 minutes to play. The seven total hits tied a record for the most hits in the first inning of a World Series game. It had happened nine times beore, most recently in Game 1 of the 1984 WS. . . . The six combined runs is tied for the third-most in a World Series first inning (with 1912 G7, 1945 G7, and 1960 G3). There was seven runs scored in the first inning of G4 in 1993. The record is eight runs, in G2 back in 1958.
The Brewers are the third team to start pitchers under age 25 in the first two games of a World Series:
1966 Orioles, Dave McNally and Jim Palmer
1972 Reds, Gary Nolan and Ross Grimsley
2026 Brewers, Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson
Milwaukee was retired in order in only one inning (the second) making the Rays pitchers face a lot of "traffic", as baserunners now seem to be called. (I don't like the term, it reminds me of the bases being described as "clogged".) Also, during both the ALCS and NLCS, slugging and slugging percentage was referred to as simply "slug", i.e., "A big part of Smith's game is slug" or "To be successful tonight, pitcher Jones needs to limit slug." In recent years, I've gotten used to Ron Darling's insistence on referring to the postseason as "post" ("he's shown more plate discipline in post"), but I find this newer terminology bizarre – and completely unacceptable.)
The Brewers closed the gap with a run in the fourth. Rasmussen (who had thrown a season-high 66 pitches through three innings) walked Pratt with one out after being ahead 0-2. Frelick singled to right and Pratt raced to third. David Hamilton grounded an 0-2 pitch to first. Aranda must have taken a quick peek at the runner on third because the ball glanced off his glove and went through his legs for an error. Palacios was moving behind Hamilton and made a surpringly accurate scoop-shovel-pass with his glove to first, making the play at first far closer than it should have been. Pratt scored, cutting the Rays' lead to 4-3. Rasmussen got the second out but walked Bauers to load the bases -- and that was the end of his night. Cam Booser got Yelich to ground to second to strand three runners.
A word about Hicks being gunned down at the plate. He had been hit by a pitch and bunted to second. When Mesa's two-out single was fielded by Chourio in shallow left, Hicks (ranked 496th in MLB sprint speed) was still two or three steps from third base! A still shot of the replay was amazing to see. And there was third base coach Wendell Kim Brady Williams windmilling him in. It was a huge blunder.
Frelick tied the game with a leadoff dong in the home sixth. It was the first batter Ian Seymour faced and Frelick battled him through nine pitches (cbbffbff). It was Frelick's first home run since July 11. In 111 regular season games, he hit four homers and slugged .319. Bauers: "I've never seen him hit a dead-center homer in BP."
Hamilton followed and saw nine pitches also, fouling off six in a row before striking out. (bsffffffs). Jackson Chourio also struck out but saw eight pitches (cbfbffbs). Bauers walked on a full count and Yelich singled him to third. That was it for Seymour (32 pitches to his first four batters). Tyler Wells got Contreras to ground to third to prevent Milwaukee from taking the lead . . . in that inning, at least.
The leadoff man in the next frame scoired the go-ahead run. Turang doubled to right-center off Wells. He tagged and went to third when Mitchell flied to deep right. Kevin Kelly took over on the mound and gave up a run-scoring single to Pratt. Pratt then stole second before Frelick crushed a ball to deep right that Mesa caught on the track.
The Brewers were busy in the eighth, as well. Chouro singled to center and Yelich walked with one out. A double steal (without a throw) put runners at second and third. Contreras grounded to third and threw out Chourio at the plate. The Brewers challenged both the call and whether Hicks was blocking the plate (amazingly, still, after many years, this is not allowed any more). Both the out call and Hicks's positioning were upheld.
Milwaukee's Aaron Ashby, who pitched the final 1.2 innings, "is the first pitcher in postseason history to get at least five outs in six consecutive appearances and not allow a run in any of them". The goggled lefty has now pitched 15.2 scoreless innings in this postseason, allowing only five hits and three walks, and striking out 17.
Most consecutive scoreless innings to start a postseason, relievers
2016 Andrew Miller: 16
2026 Aaron Ashby: 15.2 (active)
1984 Andy Hawkins: 15.1
1981 Goose Gossage: 14.1 (entire postseason run)
Sarah Langs reports: "In all best-of-seven postseason series, teams with a 2-0 lead have gone on to win the series 80 of 96 times (83%). In series with the current 2-3-2 format, teams taking a 2-0 lead at home have gone on to win 47 of 58 times (81%)."
Langs: "The Brewers are the first team to win 7 of the first 8 games in which they trailed in a postseason." . . . Teams to win each of first 2 games of a World Series by 1 run each: 2026 Brewers, 2000 Yankees, 1995 Atlanta, 1972 A's, 1970 Orioles, 1950 Yankees, 1916 Red Sox. The first six all won the series.
Brewers Comebacks
NLDS: Brewers vs Padres
G1: Brewers trailed 2-0 (B3), won 3-2
G2: Brewers trailed 1-0 (B1), 2-0 (B5), 2-1 (B6), 3-1 (B7), 3-2 (B8), won 4-3
G3: Brewers trailed 2-0 (T4), 2-1 (T5), 3-2 (T6), 4-2 (T7), lost 4-3
G4: Brewers never trailed, won 3-1, won series
NLCS: Brewers vs Dodgers
G1: Brewers trailed 1-0 (B4), won 2-1
G2: Brewers trailed 1-0 (B1), 2-1 (B3), 4-3 (B5), won 7-4
G3: Brewers trailed 2-1 (T7), won 6-2
G4: Brewers trailed 4-0 (T4), won 6-4, won series
WS: Brewers vs Rays
G1: Brewers never trailed, won 3-2
G2: Brewers trailed 4-0 (B1), 4-2 (T2), 4-3 (T5), won 5-4
What grade did the international broadcast team of Dave Flemming and Ryan Spilborghs receive in this game? If I gave them a B for Game 1, I'd have to go with a C- (or even D+) tonight. Both announcers were unabashed Brewers fans to an alarming (and embarrassing) degree, acting as though a comeback by the team with the best record in baseball, down two runs with eight innings to go, was akin to a miracle. Flemming referred to Spilborghs as "Spilly" twice within a span of five pitches in the top of the third, and then sporadically the rest of the night. If Spilly referred to Flemming as "Flemmy", at any time, I did not hear it.
These guys are fuckin obsessed with bunting. They want every goddamn batter to bunt. It's unbelievable. I wish scripts were available of basebal games because I'd love to list the numerous times one of these guys prayed for a bunt. Flemming also repeatedly referred to many things as "unreal" throughout the night, including the fact that Rasmussen had a less-than-ideal start.
Before the first pitch, Spilborghs referred to Rays manager Kevin Cash as "one of the best tacticians" in the game, as assessment at which Blake Snell might raise an eyebrow. (That was a while ago, maybe he's improved since then.) Cash made several inexplicable bullpen decisions in Game 1. I don't consider whether his moves worked out, they must be judged immediately after he makes them. And bringing in two rusty arms in high-leverage spots when all of his best arms were rested defied all logic.
In the top of the fifth, with Aranda on second and one out, Spilborghs said: "It really feels like the Rays have to score in this inning." In the bottom half of the inning, he stated that "all momentum is with the Brewers". First of all, I wish announcers (even former players) would refrain from projecting their own personal feelings about the flow of the game onto every single one of the 20 players who are playing the game. Every fan has her own subjective opinion about whether any momentum exists at any given point in a game and in which direction and at which speed it might be flowing. It's highly presumptuous for an announcer to think his opinion is perfectly reflected in the minds of all the players in the game. (Actually, it sounds downright insane when I type it out, way more nutty than I thought when I started this paragraph.)
Afte Frelick homered to tie the game in the sixth, Flemming said he "just had a feeling" something like this was about to happen. Well, shit, Dave, why didn't you say something before the fuckin home run, since you "had a feeling"? Perhaps he thoughtfully didn't want to ruin the surprise for everyone else.
Spilborghs gets points for referring to BABIP (batting average on balls in play) when Pratt was batting in the seventh. But then he also said, "This is where I love bunts", right before Pratt smacked an RBI-single, giving Milwaukee a 5-4 lead. Brewers fans are very glad you are not managing their team, Spilly.
When the speedy Simpson batted with two down in the Rays' seventh, Spilborghs told us that the Brewers' first and third basemen were in on the infield grass, guarding against a bunt. We got an overheard shot immedately after he said that and both Hamilton and Bauers were standing on the infield dirt, extremely close to, but clearly not on, the infield grass. Why would an announcer flat-out lie to the audience about what's happening on the field? You expect that from a senile John Sterling, but not an announcer hired to call the World Series.
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