The Milwaukee Brewers are just two wins away from their first World Series championship, ripping the hearts out of the Tampa Bay Rays with a stunning 5-4 comeback victory at American Family Field. Those 43,245 screaming fans, waving their yellow towels, already wondering about the parade, saw their team go down 4-0 to start the game, only to methodically dismantle the Rays and take a commanding 2-0 lead in the series. Really, at this point, there may be no stopping them.
Rays Ace Drew Rasmussen Got Absolutely Hammered
You want to talk about dominance? The Rays had their ace, Drew Rasmussen, on the mound, and he was the hottest pitcher in baseball. We are talking a ridiculous 1.05 ERA in September, giving up just three runs in 25 2/3 innings. Then in October, across three postseason starts, he was 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA. He had a 4-0 lead before he even stepped on the mound for this one. And what happened? The Brewers absolutely clobbered him. Rasmussen lasted just 3 2/3 innings, giving three of those runs right back, with six hits and two walks. It was his shortest outing since getting pummeled by the Yankees on July 9, where he gave up six earned runs in just 2 1/3 innings in a 12-4 loss. Only twice in his career has he thrown at least 80 pitches and lasted less than four innings. This was borderline shocking considering Rasmussen’s utter dominance heading into the game.
The Unbelievable Comeback Machine Keeps Rolling
Yet, there were the Brewers, scratching out four hits and two runs in the first inning on run-scoring singles by William Contreras and Garrett Mitchell. They tacked on another in the fourth inning on an error by Rays first baseman Jonathan Aranda. But then, came the absolute shocker that brought the house down. Sal Frelick, the Brewers’ No. 8 hitter, who had hit only one homer off 272 left-handed pitchers he has faced in the last two seasons, and just four homers in 407 plate appearances overall this year, took lefty Ian Seymour deep. Frelick battled Seymour for nine pitches, fouling off four of them, then absolutely drilled a 93-mph fastball, 408 feet over the center-field fence. The game was suddenly tied! Frelick sprinted and skipped around the basepaths in just 21.4 seconds, barely even looking up to admire it. One inning later, the Brewers finally had their lead with rookie Cooper Pratt’s run-scoring single for a 5-4 advantage. And, considering the Brewers’ vaunted bullpen, which has produced a ridiculous 1.24 ERA this postseason, the game was over. Incredibly, the Brewers have trailed in seven postseason games this year by a combined score of 16-5, and then proceeded to shut out the opposition by a combined score of 23-0 to win all seven of those games. They have now won seven consecutive postseason games, the longest in franchise history, and the longest streak including a World Series victory since the Washington Nationals in 2019.
This team is on an absolute tear, and with a 2-0 lead in the World Series, they are just two wins away from history. The Rays still cannot believe what hit them, and honestly, who can blame them? This Brewers team has proven time and again that no lead is safe against them. Get ready, because this World Series might just be over sooner than anyone expected.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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