MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Brewers erased an early 4-0 deficit and beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-4 in Game 2 of the World Series, extending a remarkable October streak in which the club has trailed in nine of 10 games and won eight of those contests.
The rally began with Sal Frelick’s sixth-inning home run that tied the game. Rookie Cooper Pratt delivered an RBI single in the seventh to put Milwaukee ahead. The game, played before 43,245 at American Family Field, completed a comeback that began after the Brewers surrendered a four-run first inning.
Frelick, batting eighth, had not homered since the All-Star break and had regressed this season while battling structural damage in his right shoulder. The Rays had summoned left-hander Ian Seymour to face him to open the sixth, but Frelick’s drive carried over the fence. “It’s the hard-wiring of each player on the team,” Frelick said.
The Brewers enter Monday’s Game 3 at Tropicana Field two wins from the franchise’s first World Series title and are 9-1 in the postseason. They have engineered similar comebacks this month, rallying against the San Diego Padres in the NLDS clincher and sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS after trailing in all four games.
“The boys don’t quit,” first baseman Andrew Vaughn said. Infielder Joey Ortiz added, “It doesn’t matter the situation of the game. We’re winning.” Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers said of Frelick’s homer, “I almost started crying in the dugout.” The team has relied on contributions from multiple players rather than singular stars during its October run.
