Read the Brewers side (the whole game, score included)
Milwaukee at Tampa Bay
This is Missed It. Milwaukee at Tampa Bay, Tuesday, October twenty-seventh, with the Brewers. You missed it? Here's the whole game, as it happened.
Pregame
We are in Tampa Bay for game four of this seven-game series, and let me tell you, the vibes are immaculate. We come in three and oh, having swept the first three games from the Rays, who are still looking for their first win at oh and three. It's a chance to put a stranglehold on this series before we even get to the halfway point. The bats have been alive, the pitching has been sharp, and we're playing with that early-season swagger that makes you believe something special is brewing. All we need to do is keep the foot on the gas.
Innings 1-3
The game opens with a quiet top of the first. We send five batters to the plate, but we can't push anything across. The score stays at zero-zero. Tampa Bay comes up and goes down in order, three batters, no damage. It feels like a feeling-out process, both teams testing the waters, nobody wanting to make the first mistake. The top of the second is a quick three-up, three-down for us. Still nothing doing. But in the bottom half, the Rays start to stir. With nobody out and nobody on, Liam Hicks singles on a line drive to center fielder Garrett Mitchell. It's just a base hit, but you can feel the tension shift. They have a runner on, and our defense needs to be sharp. After an out, Chandler Simpson steps in with a runner on first. He drives a line drive to right fielder Sal Frelick, and it gets down. Jonny DeLuca comes around to score, and just like that, we're down one-nothing. A double that stings because it came with two strikes of pressure on the pitcher. We get out of the inning, but the Rays have drawn first blood. The top of the third sees us send four batters up, but we can't manufacture a run. The bottom of the third is a quick three-and-out for Tampa Bay. After three full innings, it's zero to one, and we're chasing.
Innings 4-6
We need an answer, and we get one in the top of the fourth. With two outs and a runner on, Cooper Pratt steps up and rips a double down the line in left field. Sal Frelick, who's been on base, comes tearing around third and scores. Tie game. One-one. That's the kind of two-out hitting that wins ballgames, and it settles everybody down in the dugout. But Tampa Bay answers right back in the bottom of the fourth. With one out and a runner on, Jonny DeLuca hits a ground ball to third baseman David Hamilton. Hamilton fields it, tries to make the play, but the throw is off. Junior Caminero scores on the fielder's choice, and the error is charged to Hamilton. We challenge the tag play, but the call on the field is upheld. One-two, Rays. It's a gut punch because we had the momentum, and now we're chasing again. We don't stay down for long. Leading off the top of the fifth, David Hamilton, the same guy who made the error, steps in and absolutely crushes a fly ball to right center field. It's gone. Home run. Two-two. You love to see a guy get immediate redemption like that. The dugout erupts, and we're right back in it. The bottom of the fifth is a quiet three-up, three-down for Tampa Bay. The top of the sixth sees us send four batters up, but we can't push across the go-ahead run. In the bottom of the sixth, Yandy Díaz singles on a line drive to right fielder Sal Frelick, but we strand him. After six, it's all tied up at two apiece.
The Stretch
So here we are, dead even at two-two through six. The play that turned this half was David Hamilton's solo homer in the top of the fifth. After his error in the fourth gave the Rays the lead, he didn't hang his head. He came right back and tied the game with one swing. That's the kind of resilience we need. We've traded blows, we've answered every punch, and now it's about who blinks first. We need our pitching to hold, and we need one more big hit. The energy is there, the fight is there. Now we just need to finish.
Innings 7-9
The seventh inning is a stalemate. We go down in order, three batters, no runs. Tampa Bay sends four to the plate in the bottom half, but they can't scratch anything across either. Still two-two. The eighth is more of the same. We're retired in order, and the Rays go three-up, three-down. This game is tightening up. Every pitch matters, every at-bat feels like it could be the one that breaks it open. The tension in the ballpark is thick enough to cut with a knife. The top of the ninth is our chance to walk it off in regulation. With one out and the bases empty, Cooper Pratt singles on a ground ball to left fielder Chandler Simpson. A spark. A base runner. We need to move him, but we can't. The next two batters can't bring him home, and we strand him. The bottom of the ninth is a quick three-up, three-down for Tampa Bay. We're heading to extra innings, still tied at two-two.
The Sequence
This is where games are won or lost. The top of the tenth, and Joey Ortiz leads off with a fly out to left fielder Chandler Simpson. Two more batters come up, and we can't get anything going. Three up, three down. The bottom of the tenth is the same story for Tampa Bay. We're still knotted up. The top of the eleventh, we send four batters to the plate, but the inning ends without a run. The bottom of the eleventh, Tampa Bay gets four batters up as well, but they can't push one across either. This game is a marathon now, and both bullpens are grinding. Then, the top of the twelfth. Leading off, Cooper Pratt. He's already had a big double and a single today. And now, with nobody out and nobody on, he gets a pitch he likes and launches it. A fly ball to left center field, and it's gone. Home run. Three-two, Brewers. We have the lead. The dugout is electric. We're three outs away from a four-game sweep. With two outs and the bases empty, Jackson Chourio keeps the line moving with a sharp double to center fielder Jonny DeLuca. But we can't bring him in. Still, we take a three-two lead into the bottom of the twelfth. And then it all falls apart. With nobody out and two runners on, Jonny DeLuca singles on a ground ball to center fielder Luis Lara. Cedric Mullins scores, Liam Hicks advances to second. Tie game. Three-three. The air goes out of the dugout, but there's still work to do. And then, with the bases loaded and nobody out, Ben Williamson singles on a ground ball to right fielder Sal Frelick. Nick Fortes scores. Jonny DeLuca to third. Chandler Simpson to second. And just like that, it's three-four. The Rays walk it off. We had the lead in the twelfth, and we couldn't hold it.
Wrap-up
Final score, three to four. The Rays take this one by a single run. Our record is now three and one, and Tampa Bay gets their first win at one and three. We still lead the series three games to one, with three games left to play. It stings to lose one like that, especially after taking the lead in the twelfth, but we're still in control of this series. We need to shake this one off and come back tomorrow. The job isn't done.
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.