Brewers Rally Past Rays 5-4, Take 2-0 World Series Lead Into St. Petersburg

The Milwaukee Brewers spotted the Tampa Bay Rays a four-run lead before most fans at American Family Field had found their seats on Saturday night, October 24. Then they chipped away, one run at a time, and won Game 2 of the World Series 5-4. Milwaukee now leads the best-of-seven series 2-0 as it heads to Florida.

A rough first inning

Tampa Bay came out swinging. Chandler Simpson's single brought home Yandy Díaz, and Liam Hicks followed with a home run to right-center, the first homer of the Series, to make it 4-0 before the Brewers had batted.

Milwaukee answered right away. William Contreras singled up the middle on a hit-and-run to score Jackson Chourio, and the Brewers cut it to 4-2 in the bottom of the first. Rays starter Drew Rasmussen never settled in and was gone in the fourth inning, a short night for one of Tampa Bay's most reliable arms.

Chip, chip, tie, lead

The comeback came in small pieces:

• 4th inning: Cooper Pratt scored when a grounder slipped under first baseman Jonathan Aranda's glove. 4-3.
• 6th inning: Sal Frelick led off with a solo home run to center. 4-4.
• 7th inning: Brice Turang doubled and moved to third, and Pratt, a rookie, singled him home. 5-4.

"Our offense is built to kind of chip away and wear on pitchers," Frelick said after the game.

The Rays had chances late. Chourio was thrown out at the plate in the eighth after a replay review upheld the call, and Aaron Ashby closed it out for Milwaukee. Ashby has now gone 15 2/3 scoreless innings to start this postseason.

What 2-0 means

According to MLB.com, teams that took a 2-0 lead in a World Series have gone on to win the title 80.7% of the time. That's a strong number, but not a lock, and Games 3, 4 and (if needed) 5 are in St. Petersburg. Game 3 is Monday, October 26, at 8 p.m. ET on FOX at Tropicana Field.

For the Rays, the math is simple: win at home and turn this back into a series. "We're going to have to dig deep," Rays reliever Kevin Kelly said.

Why the series format matters

A best-of-seven is built to forgive one bad night. That's why Milwaukee can overcome a four-run first inning and why Tampa Bay isn't finished yet. If your league settles its championship in a single game, a short series might be worth a look. You can try either format with tournament99.

Sources: MLB.com, MLB.com takeaways, WSAW