Read the Brewers side (the whole game, score included)
Milwaukee at Tampa Bay
This is Missed It. Milwaukee at Tampa Bay, Monday, October twenty-sixth, with the Brewers. You missed it? Here's the whole game, as it happened.
Pregame
We are in Tampa Bay for game three of this seven-game series, and the Milwaukee Brewers are rolling. Two and oh coming in, the Rays oh and two, and we have already taken the first two games of this one. The bats have been alive, the pitching has been sharp, and now we are looking to keep the foot on the gas. Another win today puts us in complete control of this series, and there is no reason to think we cannot do it again.
Innings 1-3
The game starts quiet, the way these early innings often do. Both sides feeling each other out, the scoreboard still showing zeroes after the first. But the top of the first gives us a little drama, a little tension, even with nobody across the plate. One out, two runners on, and William Contreras steps in with a chance to put us on the board early. He gets under one, pops it up toward shortstop, and Taylor Walls camps under it. The infield fly rule is called, the umpire's arm goes up, and the inning is one out away from slipping away. Contreras is out, the runners hold, and we are left with two outs and two on. Brice Turang comes up next, and he grounds it to Walls, who flips to first baseman Ryan Vilade. Inning over. Two on, two outs, and nothing to show for it. The kind of inning that can sting, but we shake it off. The Rays come up in the bottom of the first, four batters, no runs, and we are still knotted at zero. The second inning rolls around, and it is more of the same. We send four batters up in the top half, no runs across. The Rays send three up in the bottom half, and they do not do anything with it either. Zero-zero heading into the third, and you can feel the tension building. This is the kind of game where one swing can crack it open, and we are waiting for someone to be the one to take that swing.
The Sequence
The top of the third, and this is where the game starts to turn. One out, two runners on, and Christian Yelich steps to the plate. The crowd is buzzing, we are all leaning forward, and Yelich gets a pitch he can handle. He drives it into left field, a fly ball that keeps carrying, and Chandler Simpson is tracking it, but it drops in. Jackson Chourio comes racing home, and the first run of the game is ours. Jake Bauers moves to second, and we have a one-nothing lead. The dam is starting to crack. The Rays come up in the bottom of the third, three batters, no runs, and we are still up two to nothing. The fourth inning is quiet, both sides going down in order, three batters each, no runs. Still two to nothing, and we are holding onto that lead, but we are not done yet. The top of the fifth is where this game gets blown wide open. Twelve batters come to the plate for us in that inning. Twelve. And by the time it is over, we have scored eight runs. Eight. The inning starts to build, runners get on, and with two outs, the bases are loaded. Brice Turang steps in, and he delivers. A ground ball through the left side, past Taylor Walls, and it is a two-run single. Chourio scores, Yelich scores, Contreras moves to second, and we are up four to nothing. The floodgates are open. Garrett Mitchell comes up next, still two outs, two runners on, and he pokes a ground ball into left field. Contreras scores, Turang moves to second, and it is five to nothing. The Rays are reeling, and we are not letting up. By the time the inning ends, it is ten to nothing. Ten. The Rays come up in the bottom of the fifth, three batters, no runs, and the game is effectively over. We send five batters up in the top of the sixth, no runs, and the Rays go down in order in the bottom half. Ten to nothing, and we are cruising.
Innings 7-9
The seventh inning comes and goes without much fuss. We send three batters up, no runs. The Rays send three up, no runs. Still ten to nothing, and the game is winding down, but we are not taking our foot off the gas. The eighth inning is more of the same, three batters each side, no runs, and we are heading into the ninth with a ten-run lead. The top of the ninth, and Brice Turang steps in with nobody out and nobody on. He gets a pitch he likes and rips a sharp line drive into left field, Chandler Simpson chasing it, but it gets down. Turang is on second with a double, and we are still adding on, even this late. We send five batters up in the top of the ninth, but we cannot push another run across. Still ten to nothing heading into the bottom of the ninth. The Rays get their last licks, and they are not going down without at least a little something. Two outs, a runner on, and Cedric Mullins is standing on the basepaths. Yandy Díaz steps in, and he drives a fly ball to center field. Luis Lara is tracking it, but it carries, and it drops in for a double. Mullins scores, and the Rays get on the board. Ten to one. It is a small consolation for them, a little bit of pride saved, but it does not change the story of this game. The next batter makes the final out, and that is it. Ballgame.
Wrap-up
Final score, Milwaukee ten, Tampa Bay one. We win by nine, and we are now three and oh on the season, the Rays oh and three. We lead this series three games to none with four games to play. Three down, four to go, and we are in complete control. The bats came alive, the pitching held them down, and this is exactly the kind of statement we needed to make on the road. We are rolling, and there is no sign of slowing down.
Outro
That was Milwaukee at Tampa Bay, from the Brewers side. This has been Missed It. Every game, both sides, at missed it dot net. Produced by James Barrett.
Read the Rays side (the whole game, score included)
Milwaukee at Tampa Bay
This is Missed It. Milwaukee at Tampa Bay, Monday, October twenty-sixth, with the Rays. You missed it? Here's the whole game, as it happened.
Pregame
It's game three of this seven-game series at home, and we are in a hole. The Milwaukee Brewers come in two and oh, and we come in oh and two. They've taken the first two games of this series, and tonight we need something to change. We need a spark, we need a start, we need this team to find its footing before this series gets away from us entirely.
Innings 1-3
Top of the first, scoreless game, and Milwaukee is already making noise. Two on, one out, and William Contreras steps in. He pops it up, and Taylor Walls camps under it at shortstop. Infield fly rule, and the umpire calls it. Contreras is out, and the runners have to hold. That's a break. That's the kind of play that keeps a game close when it could slip away early. Two outs now, still two on, and Brice Turang grounds one to short. Taylor Walls fields it clean, fires to Ryan Vilade at first, and the inning is over. Milwaukee strands both runners. We escape the first without a scratch, and the score stays zero-zero. Bottom of the first, we send four batters up and nothing comes of it. No runs, no damage, but also no momentum. We're still tied at zero. Top of the second, Milwaukee sends four more batters to the plate, and again, nothing. No runs. The defense is holding, the pitching is working, and we're starting to believe this could be our night. Bottom of the second, three batters, three outs, and we're back to the dugout. Zero-zero after two. It's a pitcher's duel so far, and we'll take it.
The Sequence
Top of the third, and this is where it starts to turn. One out, two on, and Christian Yelich comes to the plate. He hits a fly ball to left field, and Chandler Simpson is tracking it, but it falls in. Jackson Chourio scores from third. Jake Bauers moves to second. And just like that, it's one to nothing, Milwaukee. The first run of the game, and it's theirs. We come up in the bottom of the third, three batters, three outs. No answer. Still down one. Top of the fourth, Milwaukee goes quietly. Three batters, no runs. We're still in this. Bottom of the fourth, same story. Three up, three down for us. We can't get anything going. And then the fifth inning happens. Top of the fifth, and the floodgates open. Two outs, bases loaded, and Brice Turang is up again. He grounds one to shortstop, Taylor Walls tries to make a play, but it gets through. Jackson Chourio scores. Christian Yelich scores. William Contreras moves to second. It's four to nothing now, and the inning isn't over. Two outs, two on, and Garrett Mitchell steps in. He singles to left field, Chandler Simpson fields it, but William Contreras scores. Brice Turang moves to second. Five to nothing. And it keeps going. Milwaukee sends twelve batters to the plate in that inning. Twelve. Eight runs cross the plate. By the time it's over, it's ten to nothing, and this game is effectively decided. Bottom of the fifth, three batters, three outs. We can't even get a rally going to make it respectable. Top of the sixth, Milwaukee sends five batters up, no runs. Bottom of the sixth, three more outs for us. Ten to nothing, and we're just trying to get through the rest of this one.
Innings 7-9
Top of the seventh, and Milwaukee is going through the motions now. Three batters, three outs. No runs. The damage is done, but they're not adding to it. Bottom of the seventh, we send three batters up, and we're back in the dugout. Still ten to nothing. Top of the eighth, same story. Three batters for Milwaukee, no runs. They're just trying to get out of here. Bottom of the eighth, we get three more outs, and we're running out of chances to put anything on the board. Top of the ninth, and Brice Turang leads off with a sharp line drive to left field. Chandler Simpson is there, but it gets past him. Turang is on second with a double. But Milwaukee can't bring him home. Three more outs, no runs, and the inning ends with the score still ten to nothing. Bottom of the ninth, our last chance. Two outs, a runner on, and Yandy Díaz comes to the plate. He hits a fly ball to center field, Luis Lara is tracking it, but it drops in. Cedric Mullins scores from wherever he is, and we finally get a run on the board. Ten to one. It's not much, but it's something. It's the only run we score all night, and it comes with two outs in the ninth.
Wrap-up
Final score, Milwaukee ten, Tampa Bay one. They win by nine. Our record drops to oh and three, and Milwaukee improves to three and oh. They lead this series three games to none, with four games still to play. We're not out of it yet, but we're running out of room. We need to find something, and we need to find it fast.
Outro
That was Milwaukee at Tampa Bay, from the Rays side. This has been Missed It. Every game, both sides, at missed it dot net. Produced by James Barrett.