MILWAUKEE — The Tampa Bay Rays jumped on the Milwaukee Brewers for four runs in the first inning Saturday night and still lost, falling 5-4 in World Series Game 2 at American Family Field and heading back to St. Petersburg down two games to none.
The Rays struck right away against Brewers rookie Logan Henderson. Chandler Simpson drove in Yandy Diaz with a single, Junior Caminero added another run-scoring hit after Simpson stole second, and catcher Liam Hicks crushed a 411-foot, two-run homer to right-center for the first home run of the Series.
The lead did not hold. Rays ace Drew Rasmussen lasted just 3 2/3 innings, his shortest outing in months, and Milwaukee chipped away. Sal Frelick tied the game at 4 with a sixth-inning homer to center off lefty Ian Seymour, and rookie Cooper Pratt pushed the Brewers in front with an opposite-field RBI single in the seventh.
Tampa Bay put the tying run 90 feet from home in the ninth against Aaron Ashby, but Diaz struck out on a check swing to end it. Defensive mistakes hurt again, including a bouncing grounder in the fourth that slipped past the glove of Jonathan Aranda at first base.
History is against the Rays now. Teams that took a 2-0 lead in the Fall Classic have gone on to win the title 80.7% of the time across 55 earlier Series. Milwaukee won Game 1 by a 3-2 score Friday.
Back home, Tropicana Field hosts the next two nights, with first pitch for both Monday’s Game 3 and Tuesday’s Game 4 at 8 p.m. A Game 5 would follow Wednesday if needed, giving Rays fans in St. Petersburg a chance to watch their club try to climb back into the Series.
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