The Brewers have taken the first two games of the World Series at American Family Field, and Saturday’s 5-4 comeback over Tampa Bay carried the familiar October stamp of a Milwaukee club that refuses to treat an early deficit as a final verdict.
Milwaukee erased a four-run hole, with Sal Frelick’s sixth-inning homer drawing the game even and rookie Cooper Pratt delivering the go-ahead RBI single in the seventh. The National League champions now head to St. Petersburg holding a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven set, with Game 3 scheduled for Monday at 8 p.m. ET on FOX, FOX Deportes and FOX One.
History is firmly on the Brewers’ side. Clubs that have opened a World Series with two wins have gone on to win the championship in 44 of 55 previous instances, a conversion rate of 80.7 percent. But Milwaukee’s edge has been built less on history than on a packed home ballpark, persistent at-bats and a willingness to keep playing through rough patches.
“When we fall behind, we still believe we have a chance,” Frelick said.
Rays strike quickly against Henderson
Tampa Bay brought rested ace Drew Rasmussen and its top relief options into Game 2, then immediately put Milwaukee rookie right-hander Logan Henderson under pressure. Yandy Díaz reached second ahead of Chandler Simpson’s ground-ball single, which opened the scoring. Simpson stole second and came home on Junior Caminero’s single.
The Rays extended the lead to 4-0 when catcher Liam Hicks drove the first home run of the Series, a 411-foot shot into right-center field.
Reliever Kevin Kelly said Tampa Bay knew from Milwaukee’s previous postseason series that no lead would be safe. The Rays were excited about their start, he said, but remained focused because of the way the Brewers play.
Rasmussen, however, could not hold the margin. His outing lasted only 3 2/3 innings, his shortest start in months.
Milwaukee begins the climb
The Brewers answered in the bottom of the first. Jackson Chourio and Jake Bauers opened with singles, putting runners at the corners. William Contreras then executed a hit-and-run, bouncing a ball through the middle and past second baseman Richie Palacios to bring Chourio home.
Garrett Mitchell followed later in the inning with a two-out single to right, cutting Tampa Bay’s advantage to 4-2.
Milwaukee moved within a run in the fourth after Pratt walked and Frelick singled. David Hamilton sent a low changeup down the first-base line, where Jonathan Aranda misplayed it for an error. Pratt scored, making it 4-3.
Aranda said he did not pick up the ball’s spin properly off the bat and expected it to move differently. He acknowledged it was a play he should have completed.
Frelick changes the night
The biggest swing came in the sixth, when Frelick led off against left-hander Ian Seymour. Frelick had managed just one hit against left-handed pitching in 98 regular-season plate appearances, but he worked the count full before jumping on Seymour’s ninth pitch, a four-seam fastball over the middle.
Frelick sent it to center field for a game-tying homer, turning American Family Field into its loudest version of itself and tying the score at 4-4.
Frelick said manager Pat Murphy often teases him that balls hit on the ground toward center field will become outs. The outfielder said he was eager to get back to the dugout and celebrate the rare long ball with his manager, noting that he does not often hit homers, particularly to center.
Milwaukee did not cash in again that inning, as Contreras grounded out with two runners aboard. Still, the game had shifted.
Pratt gives Brewers the lead
Brice Turang started the seventh with a double off Tyler Wells and advanced to third when Mitchell’s deep fly ball to right was caught by Victor Mesa Jr. Tampa Bay called on Kelly to face Pratt, the right-handed rookie.
Pratt drove a sinker the other way into right-field grass for the RBI single that gave Milwaukee its first lead, 5-4.
“The whole moment was electric,” Pratt said.
The Brewers missed an insurance run in the eighth when Chourio was called out in a collision at the plate. Aaron Ashby then had to work through ninth-inning tension after Tampa Bay moved the tying run to third.
With Yandy Díaz at the plate, the game ended on a called check-swing strike. Díaz remained at home plate visibly upset by the ruling before accepting it afterward. He said Tampa Bay’s frustration came from its own failure to produce enough offense to support its pitchers.
Murphy said his club’s resilience has carried it to the final stage of the season.
“At some point, somebody will tell us there are no more games left,” Murphy said. “But these players keep believing and keep pushing. They do not quit.”
The Series now leaves Milwaukee, where the Brewers also won the opener on a rare double-ending and fed off two nights of deafening support. The Rays will have the home crowd in St. Petersburg, but they will also have to clean up the mistakes that have helped Milwaukee seize control of the Fall Classic.
