RAYS BLOW A FOUR RUN GAME 2 LEAD

Tampa Bay needed five batters to go up 4-0 in Game 2, helped along by rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt throwing the ball around on the first play of the game. That was the entire Rays offense. They did not score in the second, or the fifth, or the ninth. Eight scoreless innings while Milwaukee picked them apart and won 5-4 for a 2-0 series lead. The Brewers got two back in the bottom of the first on RBI hits from William Contreras and Garrett Mitchell, then got within one in the fourth when Rays first baseman Jonathan Aranda misplayed a grounder and let Pratt score. Milwaukee fouled off 45 pitches on the night, the most in a postseason game since 2023. Drew Rasmussen got yanked after three and two-thirds, and then the Rays bullpen found out what that kind of at-bat does to a man. Sal Frelick, who hadn't homered in three months, tied it in the sixth off Ian Seymour and circled the bases in 18.72 seconds like he was late for something. It was the first Brewers World Series homer since 1982. Pratt, 22 years old and responsible for the hole, singled home Brice Turang in the seventh. Aaron Ashby got the last five outs and struck out Yandy Díaz with the tying run standing on third.

Why you should give a shit: Milwaukee is two wins from the first title in franchise history, and Tampa Bay now has to win four in a row against a team that treats a 4-0 deficit as a stretching routine.