The Milwaukee Brewers are two wins away from the first World Series title in franchise history. Trailing by four runs in the first inning on Saturday night, the Brewers fought back to beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-4 in Game 2 of the World Series at American Family Field, taking a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
It was the second night in a row that Milwaukee won a one-run game in the ninth inning, and the second night in a row that Tampa Bay left the tying run standing at third base when the final out was recorded. This time the finish came on a checked swing, appealed to first base, that ended the game and sent the home crowd into celebration.
FAKTA
- Result: Milwaukee Brewers 5, Tampa Bay Rays 4 — Game 2 of the World Series
- Date and venue: Saturday, 24 October 2026, American Family Field, Milwaukee
- Series: Milwaukee lead 2-0; Game 3 is Monday night in St. Petersburg
- Winning pitcher: Abner Uribe — 1 1/3 hitless innings in relief
- Save: Aaron Ashby — his third save of the postseason
- Turning points: Sal Frelick’s sixth-inning home run tied the game 4-4; Cooper Pratt’s seventh-inning single drove in the winning run
- Comeback: Milwaukee’s seventh comeback win of this postseason
Brewers Rays World Series Game 2 turns in the first inning
The night began as badly as possible for the home side. Tampa Bay scored four times in the top of the first inning against rookie starter Logan Henderson. Chandler Simpson drove in Yandy Díaz, Junior Caminero drove in Simpson, and Liam Hicks capped the rally with a two-run home run. A costly error by shortstop Cooper Pratt helped the Rays on their way.
Milwaukee answered immediately. In the bottom of the first, William Contreras singled home Jackson Chourio and Garrett Mitchell singled home Jake Bauers, cutting the deficit to 4-2 before the crowd had time to grow quiet. The Brewers then chipped away, one run at a time. In the fourth inning, David Hamilton’s run-scoring grounder brought Pratt home after a Tampa Bay error, and the lead was down to a single run. Rays starter Drew Rasmussen was out of the game in that same inning.
The comeback was completed in the sixth. Sal Frelick, who had not hit a home run in three months, worked a nine-pitch at-bat against Ian Seymour and drove a fastball 408 feet over the centre-field fence for his first home run of the postseason. The game was tied 4-4. In that same inning, Chourio threw out Hicks at home plate to keep the Rays from retaking the lead.
Pratt atones with the winning hit in the seventh
The winning run came in the seventh inning, and it belonged to the player whose early error had helped put Milwaukee in trouble. Brice Turang opened the inning with a double, moved to third on a flyout, and then scored when Pratt lined a single to right field off Kevin Kelly. Pratt’s hit put the Brewers in front for the first time all night, 5-4, and the lead never changed hands again.
Milwaukee still had to survive one more scare. In the eighth inning, Chourio was thrown out at home trying to score from third on an infield bouncer, a close play that stood after a review. In the ninth, Jonny DeLuca opened with a double off Ashby and advanced to third on a groundout, leaving the tying run 90 feet from home with two outs. Díaz then swung at a full-count pitch, and after an appeal to first-base umpire James Hoye, was called out on strikes to end the game.
Manager Pat Murphy praised his side’s refusal to fold. “They believe and they don’t give up. They just keep going,” he said after the game.
Bullpen carries Brewers to the brink of history
The foundation of the win was Milwaukee’s bullpen. Henderson lasted only three innings, giving up four runs, three of them earned, on three hits. From there, JoJo Romero, Dustin May and DL Hall each threw a scoreless inning, Uribe retired all four batters he faced for the win, and Ashby closed it out. The relievers combined for six scoreless innings, and Ashby has now gone 15 2/3 scoreless innings across eight postseason appearances.
The comeback habit is becoming this team’s identity. It was Milwaukee’s seventh comeback win in nine postseason victories, and the Brewers have now twice recovered from four-run deficits in a single postseason — they also trailed 4-0 before beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-4 in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series. Only a handful of teams in history have recovered from a 2-0 World Series deficit, and none has done it since the New York Yankees in 1996.
The series now moves to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg for Game 3 on Monday night, where former Brewer Freddy Peralta is set to start for Tampa Bay against his old club. The Rays must win to avoid heading back to Milwaukee facing elimination. For Milwaukee, the message of the weekend is simple: twice down, twice back, and two wins from a first championship. More sports coverage is available on Watan News.
