Brewers Rally From 4-0 Down to Beat Rays 5-4 and Take a 2-0 World Series Lead

MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Brewers trailed 4-0 before most fans had settled into their seats on Saturday night. By the seventh inning, they led. Rookie Cooper Pratt singled in the go-ahead run to complete the comeback, and Milwaukee beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-4 in Game 2 of the World Series at American Family Field for a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

A four-run first, then a slow climb back

Tampa Bay struck fast against Milwaukee starter Logan Henderson. Pratt’s errant throw from shortstop on Yandy Diaz’s leadoff grounder let Diaz reach second, and he scored on Chandler Simpson’s single. Simpson stole second and scored on Junior Caminero’s run-scoring single, and Liam Hicks followed with a two-run homer, his first of the postseason, for a 4-0 lead.

Milwaukee answered at once. The Brewers bunched four singles for two runs in the bottom of the first, including run-scoring singles by William Contreras and Garrett Mitchell. Pratt, who had started the game with the error, drew a one-out walk in the fourth, moved to third on a single and scored on an error by Tampa Bay first baseman Jonathan Aranda to cut the gap to 4-3.

Sal Frelick tied the game in the sixth, leading off with a 408-foot solo homer to center off Ian Seymour on a 3-2 pitch. It was Frelick’s first career postseason homer. “I don’t hit a lot of home runs, especially to center, so I was happy it went out,” Frelick said after the game.

Pratt answers in the seventh

Milwaukee took its first lead in the seventh. Brice Turang doubled to open the inning off Tyler Wells and moved up on a flyout, and Pratt greeted reliever Kevin Kelly with a single to right that scored Turang for a 5-4 lead. “As long as there’s game left, we have a chance,” Pratt said. “We’re never out of it.”

The bullpen did the rest. Henderson allowed four runs, three of them earned, on three hits in three innings, and five relievers combined for six scoreless innings. JoJo Romero, Dustin May and DL Hall each threw a scoreless inning, Abner Uribe got four outs for the win, and Aaron Ashby finished for his third save of the postseason. Ashby has not allowed a run in 15 2/3 innings over eight postseason appearances.

Tampa Bay had one last chance in the ninth. Jonny DeLuca doubled to open the inning off Ashby and moved to third on a groundout, but Diaz struck out swinging on a 3-2 pitch to end the game, leaving the tying run at third for the second straight night. Milwaukee also won Friday’s opener, 3-2.

Game 3 is Monday in St. Petersburg, Florida. Only 10 teams have come back from a 2-0 deficit to win the World Series, the last being the New York Yankees in 1996. The Brewers, whose only other World Series trip ended in a seven-game loss to St. Louis in 1982, also came back from 4-0 down to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series.

Reporting based on coverage by Reuters and Yardbarker.