Rays blow 4-run lead with Rasmussen not sharp, lose Game 2 to Brewers

Marc Topkin, Tampa Bay Times on Oct 25, 2026

Published in Baseball

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MILWAUKEE — Saturday’s second game of the World Series couldn’t have started much better for the Rays, as they scored four runs in the first inning then sent ace Drew Rasmussen to the mound.

But it couldn’t have ended much worse, with a 5-4 loss to the Brewers that put the Rays down two-games-to-none in the best-of-seven championship round.

Game 3 is Monday night at Tropicana Field, and the Rays will send Freddy Peralta to the mound against Brewers lefty Robert Gasser. Teams with a 2-0 lead in best-of-seven MLB series have won 80 of 96 times, an 83.3% clip.

The decisive run was scored in the seventh inning. Brice Turang led off with a double off reliever Tyler Wells and moved to third on Garrett Mitchell’s flyout.

The Rays summoned Kevin Kelly, hoping to get a ground ball, but Cooper Pratt, the 22-year-old rookie shortstop, lined a ball to right, scoring Turang.

The Rays had a chance in the ninth when Jonny DeLuca led off with a double against Aaron Ashby. But Victor Mesa Jr. struck out on a check swing, pinch-hitter Ben Williamson grounded out and Yandy Diaz struck out to end it.

The Rays seemingly couldn’t have gotten off to much better of a start, scoring four runs in the top of the first and handing the ball to Rasmussen, who hadn’t lost a game since July 9.

But Rasmussen, who was held back for Game 2 of the series so he’d have an extra day’s rest, was not his normal self, nor even close.

Command seemed to be an issue, as he gave up two runs in a four-hit first inning, then another in the fourth before getting pulled with two outs, having thrown 89 pitches to get 11 outs. The defense, specifically by first baseman Jonathan Aranda, didn’t help.

The Rays came out aggressive against Milwaukee starter Logan Henderson, with four of their first five batters scoring.

Yandy Diaz started the game by hustling down the line after grounding to short and ending up on second due to an errant throw by Pratt.

With one out, Chandler Simpson worked another good at-bat, singling in Diaz. He then stole second and scored on a single by Junior Caminero. Liam Hicks followed with a two-run homer for the 4-0 lead.

Rasmussen, surprisingly, let most of it slip away.

He allowed singles to the first two Brewers, which led to a pair of runs, and four hits total in a 29-pitch first inning. Aranda not hanging on to a foul pop-up by William Contreras, who then drove in a run with a single between first and second, didn’t help.

Rasmussen had a 1-2-3 second inning and allowed just a two-out single in the third but then made a bit of a mess in the fourth, leading to his early departure.