Brewers rally vs. Rays in Game 2 to take 2-0 lead in World Series

MILWAUKEE -- Perhaps Brewers manager Pat Murphy had a hunch before Game 2 of the World Series when he said right fielder Sal Frelick possessed the "it factor" in the same way Joe Montana or Larry Bird used to.

Frelick lived up to the billing Saturday night when he hit the tying home run in Saturday's nail-biting 5-4 win, part of another come-from-behind victory for the Brewers, who lead the Tampa Bay Rays 2-0 in the best-of-seven series.

The solo shot tied the score 4-4 in the sixth inning after Milwaukee fell into a 4-0 hole in the first. One inning later, shortstop Cooper Pratt gave the Brewers their first lead with an RBI single as Milwaukee's pitching staff shut out the Rays for the final eight frames.

"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. I think just having an offense built like that is really good for when you're down."

It was Milwaukee's second win in its past three postseason games after getting down 4-0 early in the contest. The Brewers grinded away at Rays starter Drew Rasmussen , chasing him after just 3⅔ innings. Then they went to work on the Rays' bullpen, fouling off a total of 45 pitches in the game, the most in a postseason contest since the 2023 Arizona Diamondbacks did. They were relentless, and it paid off.

"It comes from trusting each other," second baseman Brice Turang said. "It relaxes you, knowing they will pick you up."

That team trust showed up in Frelick during Saturday's win. He battled a shoulder injury this season and barely played against left-handed pitching but was given the chance against Rays reliever Ian Seymour in Game 2. No one saw a home run coming -- his last homer against a lefty was on Opening Day -- but after seeing nine pitches, Frelick got one he could drive.

"Late in the at-bat, he started throwing four-seams and kind of caught me by surprise," Frelick said. "Was able to spoil a few of those and was just really hoping ... that he would maybe leave one over the plate, and yeah, he did."

The crowd erupted after having watched the Brewers chip away at the early deficit.

Milwaukee got two back in the bottom of the first on RBI hits by William Contreras and Garrett Mitchell , then got within one in the fourth when Tampa Bay first baseman Jonathan Aranda misplayed a ground ball, allowing Pratt to score from third.

Then came Frelick's sixth-inning blast, which brought some emotion within the dugout from teammates who saw firsthand how hard he worked to come back from his injury.

"I almost started crying in the dugout," first baseman Jake Bauers said. "He means so much to us in here."

Trust was also in play with Pratt, whose first-inning error contributed to the Rays' four-run burst. He put it behind him when Tampa Bay brought in righty Kevin Kelly with the lead run on third base in the seventh inning and the infield in. Hitting coach Daniel Vogelbach called Pratt over for a pep talk.

"Just put my arm around him, reminding him he's the right person and deserves to be in this spot," Vogelbach said. "And don't try to do too much."

After a terrible swing-and-miss on a changeup away brought the count to 1-2, Pratt shortened up and took a sinker to right field for what turned out to be the winning hit. The comeback was complete.

"They changed the pitchers, and Vogy kind of pulled me aside, like, 'Hey, you were built for this type of stuff,' kind of hyping me up," Pratt said. "My heart was racing, I'm not going to lie. You saw me chase the 1-1 pitch in the other batter's box. You try to relax and calm down and breathe and focus. Then good things happen."

They seem to happen a lot for Milwaukee, which played a quintessential Brewers game despite that error by Pratt. They stole five bases, got a timely home run and then once again let their bullpen shut the door. They covered the final six innings in relief of starter Logan Henderson , with lights-out reliever Aaron Ashby earning the save. Ashby still hasn't given up a run in this postseason.

Now the Brewers are two wins from their first championship.

"I don't think there is ever any panic," Milwaukee 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."