Milwaukee leads the World Series 2-0 after two one-run wins at American Family Field, and the Brewers arrive at Tropicana Field for Game 3 on Monday night with a chance to take command of a series neither franchise has ever won.
Game 1 finished 3-2. Game 2 finished 5-4, after Tampa Bay scored four runs in the first inning. Cooper Pratt put Milwaukee ahead in the seventh, and Aaron Ashby closed out the ninth with the tying run in scoring position.
A team that keeps coming back
The comeback was Milwaukee's seventh of the postseason and the club's seventh straight win. The Brewers trailed at some point in every game of the National League Championship Series against the Dodgers, whom they swept in four games at Dodger Stadium — the franchise's first pennant since 1982.
Five of the team's runs in Game 2 came with two strikes, a pattern that has held all month: long at-bats, foul balls, and pressure on opposing bullpens.
The Game 3 matchup
Freddy Peralta is lined up to start for Tampa Bay against the club he pitched for over eight seasons before the 2026 trade that sent him to the Rays. He was named the ALCS MVP after Tampa Bay beat Cleveland.
Robert Gasser is expected to start for Milwaukee. Jackson Chourio, who had two hits and two stolen bases in Game 2, is the bat the Rays will try to keep off the bases.
What is at stake
Neither club has won a World Series. Milwaukee last appeared in 1982 and lost to St. Louis in seven games; Tampa Bay lost the 2020 series to the Dodgers in six. One of them will lift the trophy for the first time, and only the Rays have recent experience of a deep run to draw on.
A 3-0 lead would put Milwaukee in position to finish the series in Florida. A Tampa Bay win reopens a matchup in which the home team has yet to lose.
Game 4 is Tuesday night at Tropicana Field. Games 6 and 7, if needed, return to Milwaukee on 30 and 31 October.