Game result and context
Brewers 10, Rays 1: Tampa Bay's bats stay quiet as Milwaukee takes 3-0 Series lead
Christian Yelich's third-inning single put Milwaukee ahead for good. Tampa Bay finished with three hits at Tropicana Field and trails the World Series three games to none.
Christian Yelich lifted a single to left field in the top of the third inning, Jackson Chourio crossed the plate, and the Milwaukee Brewers had the only run they would need. Tampa Bay's lineup did not answer until the ninth, and by then the Brewers had pulled away for a 10-1 win in Game 3 of the World Series before 40,388 at Tropicana Field. Milwaukee leads the Series 3-0.
For the Rays, the night extended a pattern that has followed them through October. They scored 4.72 runs per game in September. Through 12 postseason games, that figure is 3.5, with four games of two runs or fewer. In this Series they have scored 2, 4 and 1. The offense produced three hits and left five runners on base.
Robert Gasser did most of the work. The Milwaukee starter gave up one hit and one walk over six scoreless innings, striking out three on 75 pitches. His postseason ERA is 0.60 across three starts and 15.0 innings, against a 3.87 ERA in the regular season. Antonio Senzatela followed with two hitless innings.
Milwaukee added a second run in the third when William Contreras lined a single to right to score Jake Bauers, though Victor Mesa Jr. threw Contreras out trying for second. Contreras finished 3-for-5 and has hit in all three Series games. He is batting .419 this postseason after hitting .270 in the regular season.
The fifth inning settled it. Brice Turang's two-run single through the left side made it 4-0 and was the largest win-probability swing of the game. Freddy Peralta left after 4.2 innings, charged with five earned runs on seven hits and three walks. Cam Booser came on and did not record an out, allowing four hits and four earned runs. Garrett Mitchell singled in a run, Cooper Pratt doubled in two more on a ball deflected by Junior Caminero, and Sal Frelick, David Hamilton and Chourio each drove in another. Eight runs scored in the inning.
Booser had not allowed an earned run in any of his previous postseason appearances, and his regular-season ERA was 1.98. His postseason ERA is now 6.00. Peralta's postseason ERA rose to 2.95, still well below his 4.99 regular-season mark.
Chourio went 4-for-5 with a double and two runs scored, his first four-hit game of the postseason. The Brewers had 16 hits and still stranded 18 runners.
Tampa Bay's run came in the ninth, when Yandy Díaz doubled to center off Brandon Woodruff to score Cedric Mullins. Díaz, 0-for-4 and 0-for-5 in the first two games, finished 2-for-4.
The first two games of this Series were one-run Milwaukee wins, 3-2 and 5-4. This one was not close after the fifth. The Brewers are 10-1 this postseason and have won eight straight. The Rays have lost three in a row and play Game 4 needing a win to extend the Series.