Comeback Crew: Brewers Erase Another Early Deficit to Stun the Rays in Game 2

For the seventh time in nine postseason wins, the Brewers erased a deficit and secured an impressive comeback victory.

Milwaukee got off to a rocky start in Game 2 of the World Series, as Logan Henderson allowed four runs (three earned) in the top of the first inning. An error from Cooper Pratt put a runner in scoring position, and the Rays proceeded to get on the board with a pair of RBI singles, giving them a 2–0 lead. Then, Liam Hicks came through at the plate, parking a pitch from Henderson in the seats in right center field to make it a 4–0 game before the end of the first inning.

The Rays would’ve anticipated their early lead would be safe with Drew Rasmussen on the mound, but the Brewers quickly answered in the bottom of the first. Milwaukee plated two runs off Rasmussen, thanks to contributions from William Contreras and Garrett Mitchell, making it a 4–2 game by the end of the first. The six runs in the first inning were more than the two teams combined for in all of Game 1.

The Brewers tacked on a third run in the fourth inning after a blunder at first base by Jonathan Aranda, who misplayed what would’ve been an inning-ending ground ball. After walking Jake Bauers in a six-pitch at-bat, Rasmussen loaded the bases and Kevin Cash hooked him, bringing in Cam Booser to get out of the inning.

Later on, Sal Frelick evened things up in the sixth inning, unloading on an Ian Seymour pitch and sending it over the fence in center field. Seymour has struggled with home runs throughout the year, and Frelick, who hit just four home runs in the regular season, came through with a massive one in Game 2 which flipped the game on its head completely. Brice Turang led off the seventh inning with a double to the gap in right center field. Two batters later, he came around to score via an RBI single from Pratt, giving Milwaukee a 5–4 lead, which it would not surrender.

The offense has to do its part in order to mount a come-from-behind victory, of course, but the bullpen also has to keep the game close, and that’s exactly what the Brewers relievers have done all postseason long. Saturday night was no different. After the four-run first inning against Henderson, the Rays couldn’t muster a single run the rest of the night. JoJo Romero shut them down in the fourth before passing the baton to Dustin May, who worked a 12-pitch fifth inning. DL Hall followed May with an 11-pitch inning in the sixth, before the big guns, Abner Uribe and the untouchable Aaron Ashby, shut the door on Tampa. The six scoreless innings from Milwaukee’s bullpen made each contribution from the offense even more valuable. After Henderson exited the game, the Rays collected just four hits across the next six frames, unable to pad the lead which they ultimately blew.

By erasing Tampa’s four-run lead, the Brewers are now just one comeback win shy of the 2015 Royals for the most comeback victories in a single postseason in MLB history. They’ve trailed at some point in seven of the nine postseason games they’ve won, showing unparalleled resiliency and an undying belief that a game isn’t over until it’s truly over.

Milwaukee is just the fifth team in MLB history to have multiple four-run comeback wins in a single postseason. It’s a credit to the never-give-up mentality Pat Murphy has fostered in his team. Game 2 was also just the fifth time in World Series history in which a team surrendered four runs in the first inning and came back to win the game.

Not only did the Brewers rally back to secure a 2–0 lead in the World Series, which guarantees the series will return to Milwaukee if they’re unable to win two of three games at Tropicana Field, but they also managed to deplete some of Tampa’s bullpen. That could prove to be a major factor later in the series. The Rays needed six pitchers to get through Game 2, and they walked away with nothing to show for it. In a game in which the team likely anticipated having its starter on the mound deep into the game, Rasmussen was chased after 3 2/3 innings, needing 89 pitches to record 11 outs.

They Brewers made Tampa’s pitchers work by inflicting much of their damage when deep into counts. Milwaukee’s batters don’t falter, and possibly even get better, in two-strike counts. That type of grinding at the plate is not only taxing on a pitcher, but it’s also demoralizing. Of the Brewers’ five at-bats that resulted in runs scoring (three singles, an error and a home run), every single one came during a two-strike count.

Saturday’s comeback means Milwaukee is just two wins away from the first World Series title in franchise history. Games 3 through 5 will be held in St. Petersburg, so this is far from over, but the Brewers will be feeling confident after delivering a disheartening defeat to the Rays and taking care of business on their home field.