Brewers beat Rays 10-1 to take 3-0 lead in World Series

Milwaukee Brewers fans traveling to Tampa Bay are within one win of their first World Series championship. The Brewers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 10-1 on Monday night at Tropicana Field to take a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

The franchise, which began as the Seattle Pilots in 1969 and moved to Milwaukee in 1970, has not won a title since. Manager Pat Murphy leads the team, which holds a 103-win record from the regular season, the highest in Major League Baseball. The Brewers swept the San Diego Padres in the National League Division Series and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series.

Tampa Bay led the American League with 98 wins. The Rays swept the New York Yankees in three games during the divisional round and defeated the Cleveland Guardians in six games to reach the World Series. The team has never won a championship in its 29 seasons, having lost to the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008 and the Dodgers in 2020.

Rookie left-hander Robert Gasser pitched one-hit ball for six innings. He faced the minimum 18 batters and allowed only one run on a line-drive single to Yandy Diaz in the first inning. Gasser became the first starter to face the minimum through six innings of a World Series game since Curt Schilling in 2001. He was also the first left-hander to achieve this feat since Sandy Koufax in 1965.

The game turned in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Brewers produced seven straight hits, all with two outs. This set a postseason record. It was the first time in World Series history a team scored eight runs with two outs in a single inning. Jackson Chourio started the rally with a single and a stolen base. Brice Turang followed with a two-run single. Cooper Pratt and Sal Frelick added two-run doubles to make the score 8-0.

Chourio finished the game 4 for 5 with a stolen base. He became the second-youngest player to record four hits and a stolen base in a World Series game, behind Ty Cobb in 1908. William Contreras went 3 for 5. The Brewers collected 16 hits against Tampa Bay starter Freddy Peralta and five relievers.

Peralta, the American League Championship Series MVP, was charged with five runs and seven hits in 4.2 innings. Rays manager Kevin Cash said Peralta felt good but struggled with inconsistencies in the strike zone. Cash described the team's situation as having a "chip and a chair mentality," noting the team has a seat at the table and must win the next game.

The Rays had previously lost to the Brewers in five games in the 2020 World Series. In this series, Tampa Bay made defensive and baserunning errors in the first two games in Milwaukee. The Rays wore their white Devil Rays uniforms, a nod to the franchise's history, while playing to a sellout crowd of 40,388. Tropicana Field underwent major renovations after Hurricane Milton shredded its roof in October 2024.

Game 4 is scheduled for Tuesday night at Tropicana Field. Griffin Jax is set to start for Tampa Bay. A Milwaukee win would make the Brewers the first team to sweep both a league championship series and the World Series since the 1976 Cincinnati Reds. Of the 25 previous teams to take a 3-0 lead in the World Series, 21 went on to sweep the series.

Brandon Woodruff pitched the ninth inning for Milwaukee. He allowed one run and two hits in his first appearance in three and a half months. The two-time All-Star had been sidelined by a shoulder injury that was initially thought to require surgery. The Brewers won their eighth straight postseason game and their fourth straight road victory.