Frelick, Pratt Lift Brewers Past Rays 5-4 for 2-0 World Series Lead

By
Harris
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Key Points

  • The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-4 on Saturday night after trailing 4-0 in the first inning and lead the World Series 2-0.
  • Sal Frelick tied the game with a sixth-inning solo homer, and rookie Cooper Pratt singled home the go-ahead run in the seventh.
  • Milwaukee’s bullpen threw six scoreless innings, and Aaron Ashby struck out Yandy Díaz with the tying run on third to end it.
  • Game 3 is Monday, Oct. 26, at 8 p.m. ET (5 a.m. PKT Tuesday) at Tropicana Field, with Robert Gasser facing Freddy Peralta.

Our World Series Game 2 recap starts with a familiar October sight: the Milwaukee Brewers digging out of a deep hole. Down 4-0 before they had batted, the Brewers scored five unanswered runs and beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-4 at American Family Field.

Milwaukee, which has never won a World Series, now leads the best-of-seven series 2-0 and is two wins from its first title. The Series moves to Florida after Sunday’s off day.

What happened

Tampa Bay struck fast against rookie Logan Henderson. Chandler Simpson singled home Yandy Díaz, Junior Caminero added an RBI single, and Liam Hicks hit a two-run homer that MLB.com measured at 411 feet. It was the first home run of the Series.

Milwaukee answered right away against Rays starter Drew Rasmussen. After singles by Jackson Chourio and Jake Bauers, William Contreras drove in a run, and Garrett Mitchell singled to make it 4-2.

The Brewers closed to 4-3 in the fourth. After Pratt walked and Frelick singled, David Hamilton’s grounder skipped under the glove of first baseman Jonathan Aranda, and Pratt scored on the error. Rasmussen lasted 3 2/3 innings and allowed three runs on six hits, according to the MLB Stats API box score.

Frelick and Pratt deliver

Frelick led off the sixth against left-hander Ian Seymour and, on the ninth pitch of the at-bat, sent a four-seam fastball over the center-field wall to tie the game. According to MLB.com’s story on Frelick’s homer, he hit four homers in the regular season, and this was the fourth of his career off a lefty.

In the seventh, Brice Turang doubled off Tyler Wells and took third on a deep fly ball. The Rays brought in Kevin Kelly, and Pratt, a 22-year-old rookie who had made a throwing error in the first inning, slapped a 2-2 sinker into right field to score Turang. CBS Sports noted it was his first career postseason RBI.

“That speaks to Cooper, what type of individual he is, being able to hang in there when things didn’t go great for him early, even early in that at-bat,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said, as quoted by CBS Sports.

The bullpen holds

After the first inning, Tampa Bay did not score again. JoJo Romero, Dustin May, DL Hall, Abner Uribe and Ashby combined for six scoreless innings. Chourio was thrown out at the plate in the eighth, keeping it a one-run game.

In the ninth, the Rays got the tying run to third. Ashby, who finished with 1 2/3 innings and three strikeouts, ended the game by striking out Díaz on a full-count checked swing. Uribe got the win, Wells took the loss and Ashby earned the save.

Latest development

As of Sunday morning ET, the MLB Stats API lists Robert Gasser as Milwaukee’s Game 3 starter against Freddy Peralta of the Rays, with first pitch set for 8 p.m. ET Monday.

Gasser has a 1.00 ERA in two postseason starts after a 3.87 regular-season ERA, according to Sportsnet. Peralta was named ALCS MVP after posting a 0.56 ERA against Cleveland, Sportsnet reported.

Peralta will face the franchise where he spent his first eight big-league seasons. MLB transaction records show Milwaukee traded him to the New York Mets in January, and the Mets dealt him to Tampa Bay on Aug. 2.

How to watch World Series Game 3

  • Matchup: Milwaukee Brewers at Tampa Bay Rays (Milwaukee leads 2-0)
  • Date and time: Monday, Oct. 26, 8 p.m. ET (5 a.m. PKT Tuesday, Oct. 27)
  • Venue: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida
  • TV: FOX and FOX Deportes
  • Streaming: FOX One

Why it matters

History favors the Brewers, though the numbers depend on how they are counted. MLB.com says teams that took a 2-0 lead in the World Series went on to win the title 80.7% of the time, across 55 previous cases. CBS Sports, counting all best-of-seven postseason series, puts the figure at 83.2%.

Comebacks are this team’s habit: CBS Sports counted 42 regular-season comeback wins and six more in the playoffs, including a 4-0 rally in NLCS Game 4. That run ended when Milwaukee swept the Dodgers for the pennant, its first since 1982.

The Rays, who reached the Series by beating Cleveland in the ALCS, are 0-2 in previous World Series appearances, according to NBC Sports. For the pregame storylines, see our Rasmussen vs. Henderson preview.

What happens next

Tampa Bay returns home, where it is 59-27 this year including the playoffs, according to CBS Sports. Game 4 is Tuesday, Oct. 27, and Game 5, if needed, is Wednesday, Oct. 28, both at Tropicana Field. Games 6 and 7, if needed, would be in Milwaukee on Friday, Oct. 30, and Saturday, Oct. 31.

All games start at 8 p.m. ET (5 a.m. PKT the next day). The full Game 2 account is in MLB.com’s game recap.

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Sources