Brewers Take 3-0 Series Lead In Tampa

The Milwaukee Brewers moved one win from their first championship in franchise history, beating the Tampa Bay Rays 10-1 on Monday night to take a 3-0 lead in the World Series. The game was played at Tropicana Field, the venue's first World Series appearance since Game 2 in 2008. James Shields, who started that 2008 game for Tampa Bay, threw the ceremonial first pitch before Game 3.

Milwaukee broke the game open with eight runs in the fifth inning, turning a close contest into a rout. The Brewers collected 16 hits, the most in a nine-inning World Series game since Arizona recorded 16 against Texas in Game 2 in 2023. Tampa Bay fans left the stands in large numbers before the final outs, in a rare sellout crowd at Tropicana Field.

The rally began after Rays manager Kevin Cash kept starter Freddy Peralta in the game to face Milwaukee's lineup for a third time. Peralta had thrown 64 pitches through four innings. Jackson Chourio singled with one out in the fifth, and Christian Yelich followed with a two-out walk before William Contreras grounded to third. Junior Caminero's throw to second arrived too late to force Yelich, who was initially called out. Milwaukee challenged the call and won it.

"That base-running by Yeli there, which allowed us to have that huge inning," teammate Sal Frelick said. "We work on those things in spring training. He's the guy that's running the meeting, saying, 'This is important.'"

Cam Booser took over for Tampa Bay and allowed four consecutive hits without recording an out. Brice Turang's one-hopper up the middle went off shortstop Taylor Walls for two runs, Garrett Mitchell added an RBI single, Cooper Pratt cleared two more with a double, and Frelick drove in a run with a double of his own. "It just kind of unraveled from there," Cash said.

The Brewers' pitching staff limited Tampa Bay to three hits and a walk. Robert Gasser threw six scoreless innings and allowed one hit. The Rays did not move a runner beyond first base until the ninth inning, and that came on defensive indifference. Gasser's outing let relievers Aaron Ashby, D.L. Hall and Abner Uribe rest for a second straight day, with closer Trevor Megill getting a third day off. Antonio Senzatela retired all six batters he faced after Gasser left.

Milwaukee is 10-1 in the postseason and has won eight straight games, its longest such run since the 2017 Nationals. Manager Pat Murphy spoke to the crowd's presence after the game ended: "That's a statement about how much this team has captured the hearts of the people from Milwaukee and the state of Wisconsin." Game 4 is set for Tuesday night. No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win the World Series.