Brewers beat Rays 10-1 to stand one win from first title

The Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 10-1 on Monday night at Tropicana Field, moving one victory away from their first World Series title. The win extends Milwaukee's postseason winning streak to eight games, tying the major league record for a single postseason. The Rays, who led the American League with 98 regular-season wins, now face elimination in a best-of-seven series they trailed 3-0 after two games in Milwaukee.

The game's decisive moment came in the fifth inning, when the Brewers scored eight runs on a postseason-record seven consecutive hits. Every hit occurred with two outs. It is the first time in World Series history that a team has scored eight two-out runs in a single inning. The rally began after a replay review overturned a forceout at second base, allowing the lineup to continue.

Jackson Chourio finished 4-for-5 with two runs batted in and a stolen base. He became the second-youngest player to record four hits and a stolen base in a World Series game, behind only Ty Cobb in 1908. Manager Pat Murphy praised Chourio's performance, stating, "He was tremendous. Locked in. Gives us a big lift." Chourio has collected eight hits across three games in the series.

Rookie left-hander Robert Gasser earned the win by pitching one-hit baseball through six innings. He faced the minimum number of batters, a feat not achieved by a World Series starter since Curt Schilling in 2001. Gasser allowed only one run in 15 innings during the postseason, all on the road. He noted the support from Milwaukee fans who traveled to St. Petersburg, saying, "Normally it's 35,000 against nine, but tonight we had 20,000 people behind us."

Tampa Bay starter Freddy Peralta was charged with five runs and seven hits in four and two-thirds innings. Rays manager Kevin Cash acknowledged the pitching struggle, noting inconsistencies in the strike zone led to strong at-bats by the Brewers. Cash described the team's situation with a "chip on the shoulder" mentality, emphasizing the need to win the next game to stay alive.

The Brewers had previously swept the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. A victory in Game 4 would make them the first team to sweep both the LCS and the World Series since the 1976 Cincinnati Reds. The franchise, originally the Seattle Pilots in 1969, moved to Milwaukee in 1970. Their only other World Series appearance resulted in a loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1982.

Game 4 is scheduled for Tuesday night at Tropicana Field. Griffin Jax is set to start for the Rays. The Brewers have not yet announced their starting pitcher. Brandon Woodruff pitched the ninth inning on Monday, allowing one run in his first appearance in three and a half months after recovering from a shoulder injury.

The stadium, which underwent major renovations after Hurricane Milton damaged its roof in October 2024, hosted a sellout crowd of 40,388. The Rays, in their 29th season, have previously lost World Series to the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008 and the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020.