Brewers score eight runs with two outs to take 3-0 Series lead

The Tampa Bay Rays entered the World Series at Tropicana Field hoping to replicate a 2008 title run, but a historic offensive surge by the Milwaukee Brewers erased that hope on Monday night. The Brewers won 10-1 to take a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Milwaukee became the first team in World Series history to score eight runs with two outs in a single inning. The team drove in eight runs over a span of 17 pitches. Brice Turang hit a two-run single that was the second of seven consecutive two-out hits against Tampa Bay pitchers Freddy Peralta, Cam Booser, and Cole Sulser.

The Brewers took a 2-0 lead in the third inning when Christian Yelich and William Contreras hit consecutive one-out RBI singles. The gap widened in the fifth after a controversial call. Contreras grounded to third base, and shortstop Taylor Walls threw to second for an apparent forceout. Umpire Alfonso Márquez, reviewing in the New York replay center, reversed the call to an infield single, loading the bases.

Turang then hit a 106 mph one-bounce grounder that deflected off Walls' glove into short center field. The ball rolled into the left-field corner where Garrett Mitchell and Cooper Pratt followed with hits. Jackson Chourio added two more hits in the inning, finishing with four on the night. Sal Frelick and David Hamilton added doubles and singles, respectively, to extend the lead to 9-0.

Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash acknowledged the daunting position his team faces. "It’s kind of that chip and a chair mentality," Cash said. "We’ve got a seat at the table. We’ve got to do something with the chip. Obviously the only thing we can do is win tomorrow."

Historical data shows the difficulty of recovering from such a deficit. Of the 25 teams that fell behind 3-0 in a World Series, 21 were swept. Only the 2004 Boston Red Sox, who trailed the New York Yankees 3-0 in the American League Championship Series, have ever won a best-of-seven series after dropping the first three games.

Rays starter Griffin Jax will pitch Game 4 on Tuesday. "We just got our butts kicked tonight," Jax said. "We’ll just kind of forget it and try to sleep it off and come back tomorrow ready to fight."