The inning should have ended. Instead it rewrote the record book. Already 2-0 down midway through Game 3 in Florida, Tampa Bay appeared to have turned a force play at second base for the third out, until a Milwaukee challenge showed Christian Yelich had beaten the throw. Bases loaded, two out, and the Brewers then sent eight straight batters to safety. Eight runs crossed the plate before Tampa Bay could stop the bleeding.
Never before in a World Series had a side piled up eight runs in one inning after the second out. The 10-1 rout leaves Milwaukee 3-0 up in the best-of-seven series and one victory from the first title in franchise history. History offers the Rays little comfort: no club has climbed out of a 3-0 hole in the Fall Classic.
Rookie left-hander Robert Gasser made sure there would be no drama, giving up a single hit across six scoreless innings. Jackson Chourio collected four hits, Milwaukee outhit its hosts 16-3, and the visitors did it all without a home run. Former Brewer Freddy Peralta, starting for Tampa Bay, could not get out of the fifth.
“It’s definitely deflating,” admitted Rays manager Kevin Cash. His opposite number Pat Murphy was more taken with the noise from the stands, where travelling Brewers fans seemed to rival the home crowd.
That makes it eight postseason wins on the bounce for Milwaukee. One more and they would join the 1976 Cincinnati Reds as the only team to sweep both the league championship series and the World Series back to back.
