World Series: Brewers Rally From 4-0 Down to Beat the Rays in Game 2, Lead Series 2-0

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Pictured: NLCS MVP Jake Bauers, in 2021. Photo: Erik Drost via Wikimedia Commons (license on file page).

The Milwaukee Brewers are two wins from their first championship. After falling behind 4-0 in the first inning, Milwaukee came back to beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-4 in Game 2 of the World Series on Saturday night at American Family Field, taking a 2-0 series lead. Neither franchise has ever won a World Series, so baseball is guaranteed a first-time champion.

Series so far

  • Game 1, Oct. 23, in Milwaukee: Brewers 3, Rays 2
  • Game 2, Oct. 24, in Milwaukee: Brewers 5, Rays 4 (Milwaukee leads 2-0)

Game 2: Milwaukee comes all the way back

Tampa Bay jumped on Brewers starter Logan Henderson in the first inning, helped by Milwaukee errors. Chandler Simpson and Junior Caminero each drove in a run with singles, and Liam Hicks hit a two-run homer for a 4-0 lead. The Brewers answered right away, with William Contreras and Garrett Mitchell each driving in a run with singles in the bottom of the first.

Milwaukee pulled within 4-3 in the fourth when David Hamilton’s grounder went through the legs of first baseman Jonathan Aranda for an error. In the top of the sixth, Jackson Chourio threw out Hicks at the plate from left field to keep it a one-run game, and Sal Frelick led off the bottom of the inning with a solo homer to tie it 4-4. In the seventh, Cooper Pratt singled home Brice Turang with what proved to be the winning run.

Henderson lasted three innings, allowing four runs (three earned), and Rays starter Drew Rasmussen gave up three runs on six hits in 3 2/3 innings, his shortest start of the postseason. Abner Uribe got the win with 1 1/3 hitless innings, Tyler Wells took the loss, and Aaron Ashby pitched the ninth.

Game 1: Brewers survive the ninth

Milwaukee won the opener 3-2 on Friday. Christian Yelich’s RBI triple and William Contreras’s single gave the Brewers a 2-0 lead in the first, and Chourio drove in an insurance run in the seventh. Jacob Misiorowski allowed one run over five innings. In the ninth, the Rays loaded the bases with one out against closer Trevor Megill and scored once when a replay review overturned an apparent game-ending double play, but Megill struck out Jonny DeLuca to end it.

How they got here

Brewers: A year after being swept by the Dodgers, Milwaukee swept Los Angeles in the NLCS (2-1, 7-4, 6-2, 6-4) to win the first National League pennant in team history and end the Dodgers’ bid for a third straight title. First baseman Jake Bauers was named NLCS MVP, the first Brewer to win an LCS MVP award. The franchise’s only other World Series came in 1982, a seven-game loss to the Cardinals.

Rays: Tampa Bay swept the Yankees in the division series and beat the Guardians in six games in the ALCS, clinching with a 7-3 win on October 19. Starter Freddy Peralta was named ALCS MVP. This is the Rays’ third World Series; they lost to the Phillies in 2008 and the Dodgers in 2020. Cleveland’s run included a comeback from 0-2 down against the White Sox (see our earlier report), and our World Series preview has more on both teams.

What’s next (8 p.m. Eastern, on FOX)

  • Game 3: Monday, Oct. 26, Brewers at Rays (Tropicana Field). Probable starters: Robert Gasser (Brewers) vs. Freddy Peralta (Rays)
  • Game 4: Tuesday, Oct. 27, Brewers at Rays
  • Game 5*: Wednesday, Oct. 28, Brewers at Rays
  • Game 6*: Friday, Oct. 30, Rays at Brewers
  • Game 7*: Saturday, Oct. 31, Rays at Brewers

*If necessary. Times and probable starters can change; check MLB’s official schedule.

Sources

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