Tampa Bay carried a four-run first-inning cushion into Saturday night at American Family Field, then watched Milwaukee turn the World Series back even with a 5-4 Game 2 win. The Rays will head home with the Series tied, but with two games’ worth of sloppy details to clean up before Monday night in St. Petersburg.
| World Series Game 2 | R |
|---|---|
| Tampa Bay Rays | 4 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 5 |
Tampa Bay had Milwaukee starter Logan Henderson on the ropes immediately. Chandler Simpson and Junior Caminero each drove in a run with singles, then Liam Hicks sent a two-run homer over the wall. Five hitters into the game, the Rays had four runs against a pitcher who had never allowed more than three earned runs in a Major League outing.
But the Brewers began chipping away in the bottom of the first, aided by Jonathan Aranda’s missed foul popup near the first-base seats. The play extended William Contreras’ plate appearance, and Contreras followed with an RBI single through the right side as second baseman Richie Palacios had moved on a hit-and-run. Garrett Mitchell added another run-scoring knock, cutting Tampa Bay’s lead to 4-2.
Small plays changed the night
Aranda was not charged with an error on the foul ball, but he did make one in the fourth. David Hamilton’s grounder went through him with one out, allowing Cooper Pratt to score Milwaukee’s third run.
“I didn’t pick up the spin off the bat correctly,” Aranda said through an interpreter. “I thought it would move another way, and it didn’t. I got glove on it. It was a ball I should have handled.”
The Rays also took an aggressive route on the bases in the sixth. With two outs, third-base coach Brady Williams sent Hicks home on Victor Mesa Jr.’s single. Hicks had not yet reached third when Jackson Chourio fielded the ball in shallow left. Chourio’s two-hop throw beat Hicks comfortably at the plate.
Manager Kevin Cash backed the decision, noting the situation and the quality of Milwaukee’s pitching staff.
“There have been some baserunning mistakes, including in Game 1,” Cash said. “But I absolutely support Brady there. With two outs, how often are you going to string together enough singles against that staff? You try to create pressure. Give them credit: they’ve answered everything we’ve brought them.”
Milwaukee completed its comeback in the middle innings. Sal Frelick tied the game with a sixth-inning homer against Ian Seymour. Simpson also had a Christian Yelich single come loose from his glove in that inning, though the misplay did not produce another run. Pratt’s RBI single in the seventh gave the Brewers their first lead, 5-4.
Late opportunity slips away
The Rays had one final opening in the ninth. Jonny DeLuca led off with a double, moved to third after Victor Mesa Jr. struck out and Ben Williamson grounded out as a pinch-hitter. Aaron Ashby then got Yandy Díaz on a curveball ruled a swing.
Díaz initially protested, then accepted the call.
“At the time, I didn’t agree,” Díaz said through an interpreter. “The umpire ruled that I went around. That’s what it is.”
The strikeout left Tampa Bay 3-for-20 with runners in scoring position through the first two World Series games, a .150 mark. During the regular season, the Rays led the Majors with a .283 batting average in those spots.
That disconnect has been especially striking for a club that won 98 games and went 25-14 in one-run contests during the regular season. Simpson said the Rays have learned quickly how little room there is for loose baseball against Milwaukee.
“The message is that we have to be clean against them,” Simpson said. “They keep grinding, and we have to match that.”
Cash offered a blunt assessment after the loss: “Today was probably not our best day.”
Caminero was just as direct about the club’s response.
“Nobody in this clubhouse wants to keep playing the way we have the last two days,” he said. “That isn’t us.”
Home field awaits
The Rays were scheduled to fly back Sunday afternoon, with Game 3 set for Monday at 8 p.m. ET. Tampa Bay returns to St. Pete needing to rediscover the steady defense, sharper decisions and timely hitting that carried it through the American League.
“The game feels like it’s moving too fast for us right now,” DeLuca said. “We need to slow it down, do our jobs and clean up every part of the game.”
Aranda said there was no need for a dramatic speech in the visiting clubhouse. The Rays know the standard they set over six months. Now they have to meet it again.
“We have to make the most of going home,” Aranda said. “The biggest thing is limiting mistakes. That cannot continue.”
