The Brewers spotted the Rays four runs in the first inning and still won Game 2 by 5-4 on Saturday night, taking a 2-0 lead in the World Series.
By the numbers: Teams holding a 2-0 World Series lead have gone on to win the title 80.7% of the 55 times it has happened in previous Fall Classics. Milwaukee is chasing a franchise-first championship.
- Tampa Bay led 4-0 after the first on a Chandler Simpson single, a Junior Caminero single and a 411-foot home run to right-center by catcher Liam Hicks.
Zoom in: Sal Frelick tied it in the sixth with a full-count drive to center off lefty Ian Seymour. Frelick had managed one home run off left-handers in 98 regular-season plate appearances.
- "If we’re down," Frelick said, "we’re not out."
The big picture: Rays ace Drew Rasmussen lasted 3 2/3 innings, his shortest start in months, and first baseman Jonathan Aranda misplayed a fourth-inning grounder that let a run score. Rookie Cooper Pratt then slapped a go-ahead RBI single into right field in the seventh.
- "In the moment, I didn’t read the spin off the bat well," Aranda said through an interpreter. "It was a play that I could have made."
Yes, but: Tampa Bay got the tying run to third in the ninth before a check-swing strike call ended it against DH Yandy Diaz. "It is frustrating," Diaz said through an interpreter, adding that the Rays failed to score enough to help their pitchers.
Why it matters: The series shifts to Florida for Game 3 on Monday at 8 ET, giving the Rays three straight dates at home. Milwaukee has now climbed out of a 4-0 hole twice in as many postseason rounds.
