Saturday, October 24, 2026 — the Rays had Game 2 in their hands after one inning.
The Brewers beat the Rays 5-4 at American Family Field on Saturday night to take a 2-0 lead in the World Series. Tampa Bay led 4-0 after the top of the first and still lost — a defeat that will sting all the way back to St. Petersburg.
A Perfect Start
The Rays came out swinging against Brewers rookie Logan Henderson. Chandler Simpson and Junior Caminero each singled in a run, and Liam Hicks hit a two-run homer. With ace Drew Rasmussen on the mound, a four-run cushion looked like plenty.
The Comeback
Milwaukee answered with two runs in the bottom of the first and kept chipping away. Rasmussen, who had been brilliant all October, didn’t make it through the sixth — his shortest outing since July — and Sal Frelick’s solo homer that inning tied the game. In the seventh, Brice Turang doubled and rookie Cooper Pratt singled him home for the lead.
Henderson lasted only three innings, but Milwaukee’s bullpen was flawless. JoJo Romero, Dustin May, DL Hall, Abner Uribe and Aaron Ashby combined for six shutout innings. Ashby closed it out by striking out Yandy Díaz with the tying run on third in the ninth.
The Costly Send
Tampa Bay also hurt itself. In the sixth, third base coach Brady Williams sent Hicks home from second on a single, and Hicks was thrown out by a wide margin. A failed challenge followed. In a one-run game, it was the kind of mistake that haunts a team.
History Is Not on Tampa Bay’s Side
The Rays now head home for Games 3, 4 and 5 needing to win four of the next five. Teams that drop the first two games of a World Series face a steep climb, and Milwaukee’s bullpen has looked nearly unbeatable this month.
The Read
This was the Rays’ best chance to steal a game in Milwaukee, and they built the perfect lead to do it. Instead, the Brewers’ relievers took over again, and the Rays’ own mistakes helped. Tampa Bay has to regroup quickly at Tropicana Field — or this series won’t last long.
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