Simply put, the Rays deserved to win this one for half of an inning. During that half inning, they jumped out to a four-run lead, capitalized on a mistake, and provided Drew Rasmussen with as much run support as they had in his prior three playoff starts combined.
Then, over the course of the next eight and a half innings, it all fell apart. The bats went quiet. Ras was chased in the fourth. The bullpen struggled. And, most importantly, the defense faltered. For a series billed as a pairing of two teams with clinical defense, base running, and situational hitting, only one team has held up their end of the bargain thus far.
About that half of an inning… Well, the Rays seemingly bounced back with a spring in their step after losing the series opener on Friday night. They took advantage of a rare error and put up a four spot in the first inning. Early on this game felt like it was going to be all Rays. After reaching on an error, Yandy Diaz scored on a Chandler Simpson RBI single. Then, Simpson scored on a Junior Caminero RBI double. Then, Liam Hicks doubled their lead with a two-run blast to right. In the blink of an eye, the Rays had opened a four-run lead against the Brewers and their starter, Logan Henderson.
With Drew Rasmussen on the mound, what more could you ask for? Well, the answer is defense…
It wasn’t all defense, as Drew was shaky early on allowing back-to-back singles to start the bottom of the first. Then, William Contreras singled home the Brewers’ first run of the game after being given new life after Aranda dropped a pop up in foul territory. Garrett Mitchell then singled home the second run of the game with two outs and cut the Rays lead in half going into the second inning.
Unfortunately, Logan Henderson settled in and held the Rays scoreless over the next two innings. Rasmussen also settled in and going into the fourth, the game score remained 4-2.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Brewers cut the deficit in half again. Pratt walked with one out and Frelick singled, moving Pratt to third. He then scored on a fielding error by Aranda. After a two out walk to load the bases, Booser replaced the Rays’ ace and escaped the bases loaded jam.
In the fifth, the Rays squandered a one out double by Aranda and Booser worked around a one out walk.
In the sixth, the Rays again had a chance to score, but Hicks was thrown out at the plate after an aggressive send by Brady Williams. However, with two outs and Walls coming up, I can understand wanting to push the envelope. Only issue was that the left fielder had the ball before Hicks touched third base…
Ian Seymour replaced Booser to start the sixth and promptly allowed a game tying solo shot to Sal Frelick, who only hit four homers in the regular season. It was his first blast of the playoffs.
In the top of the seventh, the Rays were gifted a leadoff walk to Taylor Walls, but the top of the lineup was unable to drive him in. Then, after inheriting a Tyler Wells’ baserunner with only one out, Kevin Kelly quickly allowed a RBI single to Cooper Pratt. Scoring from second was Turang and the comeback was complete. The Brewers took their first lead of the game at 5-4.
The Rays’ bats went quietly in the eighth while Kevin Kelly and Steven Matz worked through a shaky inning. Nonetheless, the Rays again had one last chance and were within striking distance despite a number of defensive and baserunning mistakes that typically sinks a team in the World Series.
Again, the Rays put the pressure on in the top of the ninth as Johnny DeLuca tallied his second hit of the night and doubled down the right field line. However, Mesa Jr., Williamson, and Diaz were retired in order and were unable to advance DeLuca. The score of 5-4 would hold and with the win, the Brewers jumped out to a 2-0 series lead.
If this series is to come down to the defense and pitching, the Rays have some work to do. The Brewers pen was again fantastic. With Henderson only going three innings, the Brewers’ pen tossed six scoreless and rather dominant innings of work. Meanwhile, the Rays pen allowed two runs over 5.2 innings of work. Additionally, while the Rays and Brewers also only had one error each in the box score, the Brewers clearly played cleaner baseball tonight and have through the first 18 innings of this series. The Rays baseball witnessed over the last two games is a far cry from what got them to this point. That will have to change. Hopefully it will. There is no place like home, and maybe that is what flips the script for the Rays. Only time will tell.