Brewers Erase a Four-Run Hole to Beat the Rays 5-4 and Lead the World Series 2-0, as Freddy Peralta Faces His Old Team in Game 3

The Milwaukee Brewers are two wins from the first championship in franchise history. Milwaukee fell behind 4-0 in the first inning of Game 2 on Saturday night at American Family Field, then chipped away against the Tampa Bay Rays and won 5-4 to take a 2-0 World Series lead. Sal Frelick tied the game with a sixth-inning home run, rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt put Milwaukee ahead with an opposite-field RBI single in the seventh, and Aaron Ashby got the final five outs, stranding the tying run at third in the ninth.

The series moves to Tropicana Field for Game 3 on Monday at 8 p.m. ET, where the Rays will start ALCS MVP Freddy Peralta, the former Brewers ace, against Milwaukee left-hander Robert Gasser. Teams that have taken a 2-0 lead in the World Series have historically gone on to win the large majority of the time, so the Rays' margin for error is now almost gone.

How Game 2 turned

Tampa Bay could not have scripted the start better. Chandler Simpson drove in the first run with a ground-ball single, Junior Caminero followed with an RBI single, and catcher Liam Hicks hit a 411-foot home run to make it 4-0 before Milwaukee had batted. Brewers starter Logan Henderson had not allowed more than three runs in any of his previous 25 career starts, and Pratt's throwing error contributed to the early damage.

Then the Rays did not score again. Milwaukee's response came in stages: RBI singles from William Contreras and Garrett Mitchell cut the lead in half, and Pratt scored on an error by Jonathan Aranda in the fourth to make it 4-3. Frelick's homer tied it in the sixth, and Pratt's single off Kevin Kelly in the seventh completed the comeback, a fitting redemption for a rookie whose error had helped dig the hole.

Rays starter Drew Rasmussen, facing the team that drafted him, was chased after 3 2/3 innings. It was the first time this postseason he failed to go six.

The bullpen story

The headline for Milwaukee is a bullpen that has now won two games in two nights. After Henderson's exit, JoJo Romero, Dustin May, DL Hall, Abner Uribe and Ashby combined for six scoreless innings. Uribe got the win and Ashby got the save, a day after he retired all five batters he faced in Milwaukee's 3-2 win in Game 1.

That usage is the key variable for the rest of the series. Ashby has now worked in back-to-back games, and the Brewers' top relievers have carried heavy loads in consecutive nights. Monday's off day for travel helps, but a short start from Gasser in Game 3 would force Milwaukee to lean on the same arms again.

Game 3: Peralta vs. Gasser

The pitching matchup favors Tampa Bay on paper. Peralta, acquired at the trade deadline, has been the Rays' best pitcher this October and was named ALCS MVP. He has been excellent at Tropicana Field since joining Tampa Bay, and he knows many of the Brewers hitters as well as anyone after years as their teammate.

Gasser is the surprise choice. The left-hander is returning from Tommy John surgery he had in June 2024, and he has allowed one run in nine postseason innings. Milwaukee is betting on his ability to give a tired bullpen length, and on the element of an unfamiliar look for a Rays lineup that has seen plenty of right-handed power from the Brewers' first two starters.

The table below traces how Game 2's scoring unfolded.

Betting angle

Expect Tampa Bay to be a home favorite in Game 3 with Peralta on the mound, and expect the series price to reflect a team that has to win four of five. The more interesting markets are the first five innings and the total. Peralta's form suggests a low-scoring start, while Gasser's role is to get through the order once or twice before the bullpen takes over. If Milwaukee's relievers are less sharp on short rest, the late innings are where the Rays have their best chance to break through.

Verdexed publishes a daily picks piece for each slate at /blog/mlb-picks-2026-10-26, and the model's game view is on /mlb/predictions. Those pages, not this one, carry the model's number on Game 3.

Fantasy fallout for 2027

The World Series is the last chance to evaluate players before draft season, and two names stood out Saturday. Pratt is the clearest riser: a rookie shortstop who made a costly error, kept his composure and delivered the go-ahead hit on the sport's biggest stage. His defensive role is secure, and the bat is the question dynasty managers should keep watching. Frelick continues to be a contact-first outfielder whose power has played up in October; his 2027 value depends on whether that power carries into the regular season.

For Tampa Bay, Caminero remains the centerpiece, and Hicks, a catcher with real power, is a name to file away for 2027 drafts at a scarce position.

What's next

Games 3 and 4 and, if needed, Game 5 are all in Tampa Bay, starting Monday. A Rays win Monday makes it a series again. A Brewers win puts Milwaukee one victory from a title, with three chances to get it. Either way, the bullpen workload on Monday night will tell us how much Milwaukee has left for the rest of the series.