Brewers rout Rays 10-1 in World Series Game 3, move one win from first title

The Milwaukee Brewers are one win away from the first World Series championship in franchise history.

Milwaukee beat the Tampa Bay Rays 10-1 on Monday night in Game 3 at Tropicana Field, according to MLB's official game data, and took a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. The Brewers had 16 hits to the Rays' three. The game lasted three hours in front of 40,388 fans, and the AP reported that many of them were rooting for the visitors.

The game was close for four innings. Then the Brewers scored eight times in the fifth, every run with two outs, and Tampa Bay never recovered.

How did the Brewers break it open?

Milwaukee led 2-0 going into the fifth, and the inning started quietly. David Hamilton lined out, Chourio singled and Jake Bauers flied out, according to MLB's play-by-play. Then Chourio stole second.

That is when the inning turned. Rays starter Freddy Peralta walked Christian Yelich, and William Contreras hit a chopper to third baseman Junior Caminero, who threw to second. The play was first ruled a forceout that would have ended the inning. The Brewers challenged, and replay showed that Yelich's foot reached the base before second baseman Ben Williamson caught the throw, MLB.com reported. The call was overturned and the bases were loaded. Afterward, Yelich told MLB.com he had stretched his lead off first in case a ball found a hole or a close play developed at second.

Rays manager Kevin Cash went to left-hander Cam Booser. Brice Turang hit a hard ground ball off the glove of shortstop Taylor Walls for a two-run single. FOX Sports measured it at 106 mph. Garrett Mitchell singled in another run, and Cooper Pratt doubled in two more on a ball that deflected off Caminero's glove, according to MLB's data. Sal Frelick followed with an RBI double to left.

Booser left after facing four batters, all of whom scored or drove in runs. Facing reliever Cole Sulser, Hamilton singled in Frelick and Chourio doubled in Hamilton for a 10-0 lead. Bauers flied out to end the inning.

Citing OptaSTATS, MLB.com said the Brewers became the first team in any postseason game to have seven consecutive batters get a hit, and that their eight two-out runs are the most in any World Series inning. The AP also called it the first eight-run, two-out inning in World Series history. None of the runs came on a home run, FOX Sports noted. MLB.com added that it was only the 16th time a team had scored 10 or more runs in a World Series game without hitting a homer, and the first since the Royals did it against the Giants in Game 4 in 2014.

What happened before and after the fifth?

Milwaukee scored first in the third. Chourio singled and Bauers walked, and Yelich singled to left to bring in Chourio, according to MLB's data. Contreras singled to right to score Bauers but was thrown out trying to reach second, which kept the lead at 2-0.

Earlier, Frelick lost an extra-base hit when Rays left fielder Chandler Simpson made what FOX Sports called an "incredible wall-slamming catch." Frelick's double in the fifth landed in almost the same spot, FOX said. MLB.com noted that Frelick made a standout catch of his own in right field in the eighth.

Tampa Bay's only run came in the ninth. Cedric Mullins singled and scored on a two-out double to center by Yandy Díaz against Brandon Woodruff, according to MLB's data. Jonathan Aranda, who did not start, grounded out as a pinch hitter to end the game.

Woodruff's inning was a story in itself. USA Today reported that he had not pitched since July 4 because of right shoulder inflammation, and that he had originally been lined up to open Game 4. Once the game turned into a rout, Brewers manager Pat Murphy checked whether Woodruff wanted the ninth instead, and he took it, USA Today and MLB.com reported. He threw 18 pitches and gave up the Rays' only run on two hits, according to USA Today.

How good was Robert Gasser?

Gasser, a left-hander described by the AP as a rookie, threw six shutout innings on 75 pitches, according to MLB's data. He gave up one hit, walked one and struck out three.

The only hit was Díaz's leadoff single in the first inning. Contreras threw out Simpson trying to steal second later that inning, erasing the only other runner. The only Ray to reach base against Gasser after that was Victor Mesa Jr., who walked to open the sixth, and he was erased when Nick Fortes grounded into a double play. That is how Gasser faced the minimum 18 batters, according to the AP and FOX Sports.

MLB.com reported that Gasser was the first rookie starter to throw six scoreless, one-hit innings in a World Series game, and the first starter to face the minimum through six innings of a World Series game since Arizona's Curt Schilling in Game 7 in 2001. FOX Sports reported that he was the first Brewers starter to complete six innings this postseason and that his October ERA is now 0.60, with one earned run in 15 innings. All three of his postseason starts have come on the road, in San Diego, Los Angeles and St. Petersburg, MLB.com noted.

After the game, Gasser told MLB.com that his earlier road starts had taught him he did not need to press or try to be more than himself, and that he went into Game 3 with that same approach. He said being nervous would only have been cheating himself and his teammates. Murphy gave credit to Contreras for how he handles Gasser behind the plate and said the left-hander's confidence has grown all month, MLB.com reported. Díaz, speaking through interpreter Kevin Vera, told MLB.com that Gasser was throwing pitches the Rays simply could not hit.

Antonio Senzatela followed with two perfect innings, and Woodruff pitched the ninth, according to MLB's data.

Who led the Brewers at the plate?

Chourio, the leadoff hitter, went 4-for-5 with two runs, an RBI, a double and a stolen base, according to MLB's box score. All four hits came in the first five innings. USA Today and MLB.com reported that he is the youngest player with four hits in a World Series game since Joe Garagiola in 1946. MLB.com added that, at 22, he is the second-youngest player in Series history to have four hits and a stolen base in one game; the youngest was Ty Cobb in 1908.

"I was ready, and I wanted to win today," Chourio said, according to MLB.com. He told MLB.com he treated every at-bat as if it could be his last and focused on getting on base for the hitters behind him. Murphy told the AP that Chourio was locked in and gave the team a big lift.

Contreras and Turang each had three hits, and Turang and Pratt drove in two runs apiece. Eight Brewers had an RBI, according to MLB's data, and the team went 9-for-18 with runners in scoring position. Brewers hitting coach Dan Vogelbach told MLB.com that the lineup succeeds because no one tries to be the hero and each hitter is happy to pass the job to the next one.

What went wrong for the Rays?

Peralta came into the game with a 1.08 postseason ERA, according to MLB's data, and was charged with five runs on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings. He walked three and struck out four. Booser was charged with four runs without getting an out. Tampa Bay managed three hits all night, and Caminero was charged with a throwing error.

Peralta, who started his career with the Brewers, told MLB.com that Milwaukee's hitters weren't trying to do too much. In his view they were waiting for a good pitch and simply trying to put the ball in play rather than hit home runs.

Before the game, Cash had said the plan was to score early and get the home crowd going, ClutchPoints reported. Instead, Milwaukee scored first. After the game, Cash called the fifth inning "definitely deflating," according to MLB.com. USA Today reported that by late in the game, much of the crowd still in the stands was made up of Brewers fans.

Murphy said the traveling fans made a difference. He told MLB.com that his players looked around in amazement and that the turnout showed how much the team has captured Milwaukee and the rest of Wisconsin. "Our fans are a huge part of this whole thing," Murphy said, according to USA Today. Bauers told USA Today that the whole city wants a World Series and that everyone in the organization is working toward that goal.

Where does the series stand?

Milwaukee won Game 1, 3-2, and Game 2, 5-4, at American Family Field, then took Game 3, according to MLB's data. That puts the Brewers up 3-0. Our Game 3 preview has more on Peralta's return to face his old team.

History is against the Rays. FOX Sports noted that no team has ever come back from a 0-3 deficit in the World Series. MLB.com noted that the 2004 Boston Red Sox, in the American League Championship Series, are the only team to win a best-of-seven postseason series after losing the first three games. USA Today and MLB.com reported that the Brewers have won eight straight postseason games. MLB.com said one more win would make them only the second team, after the 1976 Cincinnati Reds, to sweep both a League Championship Series and a World Series. Milwaukee swept the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series, FOX Sports noted.

Both franchises are chasing their first championship. FOX Sports said this is the Brewers' first trip to the World Series in 44 years. ClutchPoints noted that the Rays also reached the Series in 2008 and 2020 and lost both times.

Gasser told MLB.com that the team would enjoy Monday night but still had work to do, and that the Brewers would show up for Game 4 ready to go.

What to know about Game 4

• **When and where:** Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 8 p.m. ET at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, per MLB's schedule.
• **TV and streaming:** FOX and FOX One in English, FOX Deportes in Spanish, per MLB's broadcast listing.
• **Starters:** As of about 6:57 a.m. ET Tuesday, MLB's official schedule data listed right-hander Griffin Jax as Tampa Bay's probable starter. Milwaukee had not officially named a starter, and MLB.com's Game 4 preview listed the Brewers' starter as to be announced.
• **What's at stake:** A Brewers win would sweep the series and give the franchise its first World Series title. To win the series, the Rays have to win four straight.
• **If necessary:** Game 5 would be Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 8 p.m. ET, also at Tropicana Field, per MLB's schedule. MLB's schedule lists Games 6 and 7, if needed, for Friday, Oct. 30, and Saturday, Oct. 31, at American Family Field in Milwaukee.

We'll update this story when the Brewers announce their Game 4 starter.

*Credits: reporting from MLB's official game data, MLB.com, the Associated Press, FOX Sports, USA Today, ESPN and ClutchPoints. Photo: TSgt. Douglas K. Lingefelt / U.S. Air Force, public domain (archive photo, April 2, 2002). NewsCubby articles are produced with AI assistance and reviewed by humans.*

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