The Milwaukee Brewers spotted Tampa Bay four runs in the first inning of World Series Game 2 and still walked off their home field with a 5-4 win and a 2-0 series lead, as reported by Deadspin.
The hero was the same guy who helped dig the hole. Rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt, 22, made an errant throw that fed the Rays’ four-run first. He drew a walk and scored in the fourth, then lined the go-ahead RBI single to right in the seventh.
“I need to be better defensively,” Pratt said afterward. Fair. But that swing is what folks in Milwaukee will remember.
How Milwaukee Climbed Back
The Brewers answered with two runs in the bottom of the first on four straight singles. A Rays fielding error cut it to 4-3 in the fourth. Sal Frelick then tied it with a 408-foot homer to center in the sixth.
Jackson Chourio also cut down Liam Hicks at the plate from second base to end the sixth. That throw kept the game tied and set up Pratt’s moment.
Then the bullpen locked in: six scoreless innings from JoJo Romero, Dustin May, DL Hall, Abner Uribe and closer Aaron Ashby. Ashby picked up his third save and still hasn’t allowed a run in 15 2/3 postseason innings.
The IAHHM Take
This Brewers run is built different. No superteam, no nine-figure ace, just a pen that has won eight of the team’s nine playoff games. That ties the 2015 Royals for the most relief wins in one postseason.
History says Tampa Bay is in deep trouble. Only 10 teams have come back from 0-2 in the World Series, and the last one was the 1996 Yankees. Milwaukee’s only other trip to the Fall Classic came in 1982, when it lost to St. Louis in seven.
Manager Pat Murphy put it simply: “Our bullpen doesn’t get enough credit.” That might be changing fast.
Game 3 is Monday in St. Petersburg. Can the Rays steal one at home, or is Milwaukee about to finish the job? Let us know.
More from the IAHHM sports desk: Sports.
Source: Deadspin
