Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy compared right fielder Sal Frelick's "it factor" to Joe Montana and Larry Bird before Game 2 of the World Series. On Saturday night, Frelick lived up to the billing, hitting a tying home run in the sixth inning of another signature Brewers comeback — a 5-4 win that puts Milwaukee up 2-0 in the best-of-seven series over the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Brewers fell into a 4-0 hole in the first inning before clawing back, a pattern that has now defined two of their last three postseason games. "It seems like we've had a lot of experience with trailing in the postseason so far," Frelick said. "Our offense is built to kind of chip away and wear on pitchers, which I think can be good when you're trying to come back."
A night of chipping away
Milwaukee got two runs back in the bottom of the first on RBI hits from William Contreras and Garrett Mitchell, then pulled within one in the fourth when Tampa Bay first baseman Jonathan Aranda misplayed a ground ball, letting shortstop Cooper Pratt score from third. The Brewers chased Rays starter Drew Rasmussen after just 3⅔ innings and then went to work on the bullpen, fouling off 45 pitches over the course of the game — the most in a postseason game since the 2023 Arizona Diamondbacks.
Frelick's tying blast in the sixth came against reliever Ian Seymour after a nine-pitch battle. The outfielder, who had battled a shoulder injury for much of the season and had gone 103 plate appearances without a home run, drove a pitch over the fence as teammates watched from the dugout. "I almost started crying in the dugout," first baseman Jake Bauers said. "He means so much to us in here."
Redemption for Pratt
Pratt, whose first-inning error had contributed to Tampa Bay's early burst, delivered the go-ahead hit in the seventh with the infield in and a runner on third. Hitting coach Daniel Vogelbach pulled him aside before the at-bat against reliever Kevin Kelly. "Just put my arm around him, reminding him he's the right person and deserves to be in this spot," Vogelbach said. Pratt fought off a changeup for a called strike before shortening up and lining a sinker to right field for the winning run. "My heart was racing, I'm not going to lie," Pratt said.
The bullpen slams the door
From there, Milwaukee's relief corps covered the final six innings without allowing a run, with closer Aaron Ashby picking up the save — he still hasn't allowed a run this postseason. The Brewers also stole five bases in the win. "I don't think there is ever any panic," pitcher Brandon Woodruff said. "We've been through this before. We just did it last series. When it's early like that, we're never out of it." Milwaukee is now two wins away from its first World Series championship, with Game 3 shifting to Tampa Bay.
