ST. PETERSBURG -- The top of the fifth inning looked like it was over.
Christian Yelich had been called out sliding into second base on a fielder’s choice, the Rays were moving off the field, and Tropicana Field’s warning track was being prepared for a mascot race.
Then the Brewers challenged, and Game 3 of the World Series was never the same.
When Yelich was ruled safe, the Rays’ rally crew cleared the field for play to resume. Raymond, DJ Kitty, and Stinger eventually took that lap, but not before Milwaukee stunned the crowd with a sprinting exhibition unlike any in Fall Classic history en route to a 10-1 victory.
The Brewers became the first team to have seven consecutive batters get hits in a postseason game, producing eight two-out runs as they now sit on the verge of the first championship in franchise history.
Here are four takeaways from the first World Series contest played in St. Pete since 2008:
Reverse the curse?
The Brewers have had the upper hand throughout this Fall Classic, churning with machine-like efficiency, and it never showed more clearly than the fifth.
Winners of a Major League-best 103 regular-season games, Pat Murphy’s squad hasn’t lost since Game 3 of the National League Division Series in San Diego, all the way back on Oct. 6. As opponents have learned all too often, if you give them extra outs, you’re likely to pay a heavy price.
So what kind of history are the Rays up against?
Only one team has come back from an 0-3 deficit in a best-of-seven series: the 2004 Red Sox, who rallied after losing the first three games of their American League Championship Series against the Yankees.
Perhaps a guest speaking engagement from David Ortiz or Kevin Millar should be in order -- both were in the building for Game 3.
Freeze frame
With the Rays already trailing by two runs, they couldn’t afford to fall further behind. With Yelich ruled safe at second base on the fielder’s choice, Cam Booser relieved Freddy Peralta, assigned to handle a bases-loaded, two-out jam.
That was the game, and it turned right there.
Brice Turang knocked a two-run single off Taylor Walls’ glove, Garrett Mitchell stroked an RBI single, Cooper Pratt banged a two-run double -- and the Brew Crew just kept on hitting. Booser faced four batters, retired none, and Cole Sulser allowed a couple of run-scoring hits before Jake Bauers flew out to end the carnage.
Perhaps it all could’ve been avoided if Caminero threw to first base rather than making the shorter toss to second. A wide-angle television shot seemed to suggest he might have had a play on William Contreras, lumbering down the baseline.
The Rays will always wonder.
‘Gas’ me up
If there were any questions about Robert Gasser's ability to handle a hostile environment, this postseason has answered them convincingly.
All three of Gasser’s starts have come on the road, and he mastered each assignment, limiting the Padres, Dodgers and Rays to one run over a combined 15 innings. The outings at Petco Park and Dodger Stadium were good; this was great.
Yandy Díaz greeted Gasser with a leadoff single, the only hit Tampa Bay managed off the left-hander, who faced the minimum through six innings. Gasser issued one walk, struck out three, and handed the bullpen a 10-run lead on just 75 pitches.
Started from the top
Milwaukee’s attack was a true team effort, with eight of the nine batters in the starting lineup registering hits, and it all started with Jackson Chourio.
Chourio registered his ninth career multihit postseason game, tying Andruw Jones for the most before turning 23. He didn’t quit after two hits, either; stroking singles in his first three at-bats, Chourio capped the fifth-inning damage with an RBI double off Sulser.
At 22 years and 229 days, Chourio is the second-youngest player in World Series history with four hits and a stolen base in a game. The other? Ty Cobb in Game 3 of the 1908 Series (21 years, 299 days).
The first four batters in Milwaukee’s lineup combined for nine of the club’s 16 hits, including Contreras, who finished 3-for-5.