ST. PETERSBURG -- It took three pitches to turn World Series Game 3 from a competitive contest into a laugher. But there was nothing funny about it for the Rays.
A historic eight-run fifth inning for the Brewers was at the center of Tampa Bay’s 10-1 loss at Tropicana Field, putting them in a 3-0 series hole.
What was it like to see the game unravel so quickly? Manager Kevin Cash called it “deflating.” Shortstop Taylor Walls described it as a “knife in the chest.”
The pain is magnified because the Rays were mere inches -- twice -- from escaping the frame with zero damage done and keeping their deficit at 2-0.
With runners on first and second and two outs, Brewers catcher William Contreras hit a chopper to third baseman Junior Caminero, who gloved the ball, spun and threw to second for what was initially ruled as an inning-ending forceout. But upon replay review, Christian Yelich’s right foot reached the bag before the throw reached second baseman Ben Williamson.
In hindsight, throwing to first base to get the slow-footed Contreras may have been a better option for Caminero. Cash said as much after the game, but he wasn’t going to fault his star player for making a quick decision.
“I understood why he thought the best avenue was to go to second," Cash said. “But it was a good job by Yelich busting it to second base and getting there safe.”
Said Caminero via interpreter Kevin Vera: “Going into the moment, once I got the ground ball, I was going to second base all the way.”
The infield single prolonged the inning but spelled the end of starter Freddy Peralta’s night. He was relieved by left-hander Cam Booser, who has been one of the Rays’ most effective relievers since he made his season debut on June 2.
Booser’s first batter, Brice Turang, hit a topspin liner with an exit velocity of 106 mph up the middle. The ball took a tricky hop in front of Walls and deflected off his glove as he slid to his left. The ball rolled into center field, allowing two runs to score.
Walls admitted that it was a “difficult play,” but it’s one that one of the best defensive shortstops in MLB would like to have back.
“I felt like that was pretty much the turning point in the game there," Walls said.
It really was. A 2-0 game became 4-0. That would have been a tough enough challenge for the Rays’ lineup, which has scuffled to produce runs in this World Series outside of their four-run first inning in Game 2.
But their uphill climb was about to become completely insurmountable.
Booser’s next pitch? A 96 mph four-seam fastball that Garrett Mitchell slapped through the left side to bring home Contreras. His next pitch after that? An 87 mph cutter that Cooper Pratt pulled down the left-field line, ticked off of Caminero’s glove and traveled into the corner to score two more runs.
From 2-0 to 7-0 in three pitches. The Rays’ hopes of winning Game 3 essentially became 86’d in those moments.
And the relentless Brewers weren’t done.
Sal Frelick lined a ball into that same corner for an RBI double. Cash then pulled Booser, who allowed four runs on four hits to four batters in just 12 pitches.
“Things just seem to be going [the Brewers’] way right now,” he said. “I don't know what else we can do. Just unfortunate. [Crappy] feeling, like you let your team down.”
David Hamilton added a line-drive RBI single against new pitcher Cole Sulser, and Hamilton then scored on Jackson Chourio’s double to right-center field. The barrage finally, mercifully, ended on Jake Bauers' flyout.
The final tally: Eight runs on seven consecutive hits -- all with two outs. According to OptaSTATS, no team in postseason history had seven consecutive batters get a hit until the Brewers did Monday night. Their eight two-out runs are the most in any Fall Classic inning and the second most in any single inning in postseason history.
It’s also one more run than the Rays have scored in this entire series through three games.
Now, in the wake of that historic fifth inning, the Rays will need to make their own history in order to win the first World Series title in franchise history. No team has come back from being down 3-0 in the World Series. Only one team -- the 2004 Red Sox – has overcome such a daunting reality in any postseason series.
“Nobody's expecting you to win at this point,” Walls said. “So just play free, go out there, do what you can to survive the at-bat, win the pitch, and see what happens at the end of it.”