World Series: Brewers Clobber Rays, Are One Win from Sweep

Christian Yelich of the Brewers scoring a run against the Rays in the 8-run fifth inning of Game Three of the 2026 World Series

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October 27, 2026

Brewers 10, Rays 1 — 2026 World Series Game Three

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Oct. 26) — The Milwaukee Brewers scored eight two-out runs in the fifth en route to a 10–1 pasting of the Tampa Bay Rays Monday night at a sold-out Tropicana Field. Playing in front of 40,388 — with a large contingent wearing Brewers gear — rookie Brewers starter Robert Gasser held the Rays scoreless across six innings. He faced the minimum, with the hit and walk he yielded being wiped out by a caught stealing and double play, respectively.

Brewers – Rays Game Summary

The Brewers took a 2–0 lead in the top of the third on back-to-back one-out RBI singles by Christian Yelich and William Contreras. On the Contreras single, he tried to take second as Yelich went first-to-third. A strong, accurate throw from Victor Mesa Jr. — who initially had trouble picking up the ball after it had bounced — combined with Contreras falling as he hit the brakes, doomed Contreras in his efforts.

The Big Inning

The score remained 2–0 until the fifth. Oddly enough, the fifth began with Rays third baseman Junior Caminero making a slick leaping catch of a liner, robbing David Hamilton of a sure hit. But it was not in any way a sign of things to come. Jackson Chourio stroked a one-out single to center, the second of four hits he had in the game. After Chandler Simpson ran down a Jake Bauers liner to the warning track in left and Christian Yelich walked, the Brewers began hitting. And hitting…and hitting and hitting.

Boom. Contreras infield single to third. Boom. Brice Turang bullet up the middle that Rays shortstop Taylor Walls slid to block only for it to deflect off his glove and into center, driving in two runs. Garrett Mitchell RBI single to left. Cooper Pratt two-run double down the left-field line. Sal Frelick RBI double to left. David Hamilton RBI single. Jackson Chourio RBI double, his second hit of the inning. When the dust settled, it was 10–0, and the rout was on.

Dominance

Meanwhile, the Brewers mowed down Rays hitters. Gasser allowed a hit to Yandy Diaz, the first Rays hitter of the game. With one out, Chandler Simpson beat out the relay on what would have been a 6–4–3 double play. However, as Junior Caminero batted, Contreras hosed Simpson as he tried to steal second, ending the inning. Gasser retired the next 12 hitters in a row. He walked Mesa to lead off the bottom of the sixth. But Nick Fortes, up next, erased Mesa by grounding into a 4–6–3 double play. Gasser got Walls to ground to second, ending the sixth and his outing after facing the minimum 18 batters.

Antonio Senzatela relieved Gasser in the seventh and promptly pitched two straight 1–2–3 innings. Brandon Woodruff, back from injury and pitching for the first time since July 4, pitched the ninth. Pinch-hitter Cedric Mullins reached on a one-out infield single. As Diaz batted with two outs, Mullins advanced to second on defensive indifference. Diaz ultimately doubled to deep left-center, giving the Rays a consolation run. Jonathan Aranda, up next, grounded to second to end the game.

What Went Right for the Brewers

The Fifth Inning

Obviously. More on this in a minute.

Pitching

The Brewers were one out away from a shutout and, overall, faced two batters more than the minimum. There is little room to be any more dominant than that.

This began with the efforts of Gasser. As mentioned before, he allowed no runs on one hit and one walk across six innings. He struck out three and notched the first Quality Start (6+ innings pitched, 3 ER or fewer) of the 2026 World Series.

Rays manager Kevin Cash said, “Gasser did a tremendous job of mixing. He’s got a quick arm. Pitched to the edges, filled up the strike zone. We felt we were 0-1 just about every at-bat. One inning where, I think, he had a five-pitch inning, and we helped him out a little bit by being overly aggressive. After that, you’re looking at guys, let’s see if we can get some pitches on him. But when he goes 0-1 to you, you’ve got to be ready to hit.”

Smart Baserunning

The fifth-inning merry-go-round would not have had the chance to happen had Yelich been forced at second on the Contreras hit. Contreras had hit a chopper in the hole on the left side. Caminero headed back and to his left, gloving it on the high bounce. He spun and slung the ball to second, where Ben Williamson stretched to try and force Yelich on a bang-bang play. The call on the field was “out,” but the Brewers immediately and successfully challenged.

Yelich drew praise from multiple sources after the game. Brewers manager Pat Murphy said, “The whole game was changed when Yeli was safe at second. That’s a hustle play. When your leader makes that play, that says it all. The game was changed because he did a little thing that anybody can do. First baseman, with the right-handed hitter, played way off. Yeli took advantage of that, got as far out as he could, safe at second. That’s a game changer right there. Gives you another pitch, and that’s sometimes all you need. Another pitch is enough. Turang comes out huge.”

Turang added, “The whole (situation) changes from his lead, from his secondary, from his sprint to beat (the throw). That’s where it changes, and then it gives us the opportunity to (challenge) and have a play. So that’s baseball IQ. Getting a big enough lead and then getting a good enough secondary and a jump off the bat to go beat it. Props to him. That’s a good baseball play right there.”

Smart Challenges

Contreras successfully challenged four different pitches through the ABS challenge system. Yelich said of that fact that Contreras “does a great job back there. He’s comfortable challenging and knows when to do it.”

What Went Wrong for the Brewers

The only real play that went wrong for the Brewers came in the second. Mitchell led off with a walk and was thrown out trying to steal second. It obviously didn’t change the ultimate result of the game, though.

What Went Right for the Rays

Impressive Defensive Plays

Despite the bobble in left field on the Contreras RBI single in the third, the Rays made some highlight-reel defensive plays. In the second, Sal Frelick hit a liner to deep left. Frelick did not get a hit thanks to a great running catch by Chandler Simpson. After making the catch, Simpson crashed violently into the wall. Thankfully, he was okay, though the collision looked rather scary at first.

Junior Caminero also made a nice leaping catch of a David Hamilton liner to lead off the fifth, robbing Hamilton of a hit.

What Went Wrong for the Rays

The Fifth Inning

This almost goes without saying. The fifth inning was an unmitigated disaster for the Rays and a jackpot for the Brewers. In the eight-run inning, the Brewers sent 12 hitters to the plate and cracked nine hits. The eight runs all scored with two outs, the most two-out runs scored in a single inning in World Series history.

Perhaps the craziest part of this inning was the fact that so much damage came against Rays middle reliever Cam Booser, one of the top relievers in the American League in 2026. Booser did not even record an out. All four batters that faced him notched a hit. Turang said of this, “(Booser) is obviously a good pitcher, and we’re gonna have quality at-bats. That’s all we’re gonna do. The end of the day, they got to throw the ball over the plate, and we gotta take balls and swing at good pitches. Go out there and compete, no matter who’s out there. You can have the best pitcher in the game, and we’re gonna try to compete. We’re never gonna give in, never gonna back down.”

Hitting

Or, more accurately, the lack of it. The Rays only managed two baserunners prior to the ninth. The first came when Diaz led off the first with a single to left. A fly to right and ground-ball force at second later, Simpson — who beat out the relay on a potential 6–4–3 double play — tried to steal second. He initially beat the throw, but the momentum of his wild dive into second took him off the bag, where he was tagged out. The other baserunner prior to the ninth came when Mesa led off the bottom of the sixth with a walk. Mesa got erased when Fortes — up next — grounded into a 4–6–3 double play.

Starting Pitching

Freddy Peralta started decently but ultimately had a rough pitching line. Across 4 2/3 innings, he allowed five runs on seven hits, walking three and striking out four. Though three of those runs came from runners bequeathed to Booser, that still is not a good night from the starter.

Milwaukee South?

Tropicana Field was sold out, drawing 40,388. A large portion were clad in Brewers gear, with many of them flying down from all over Wisconsin to attend the game. Jacob Misiorowski, when asked how it felt to see the stands packed with Brewers faithful, said, “It was cool. Was definitely cool. Coming out for BP and all I see is Brewer fans flooding in. It was—it was really cool.” With more flights leaving Milwaukee for Tampa Monday, there were more Brewers fans on their way. When Misiorowski heard that, he could only say, “Really? Wow!” So how crazy does he think it’ll be for Game Four? “They might burn the city down,” he joked with a grin and a chuckle.

Quick Hits

Former Rays manager Joe Maddon and former Rays starting pitcher “Big Game” James Shields teamed up for the ceremonial first pitch. Shields was the one who actually threw the ball, and he missed wide of the target by seven feet. The ball would have gone behind a right-handed batter.

The Brewers were the first team ever to notch seven consecutive two-out hits in a postseason game.

At 22 years, 229 days old, Jackson Chourio became the second player under the age of 23 to have at least four hits and a stolen base in a World Series game. The other is someone you might have heard of — Hall of Famer Ty Cobb, who had four hits and two stolen bases in Game Three of the 1908 World Series. Cobb was 21 years, 299 days when he did so.

There has not been a World Series sweep since 2012, when the San Francisco Giants whitewashed the Detroit Tigers. The current streak of 13 consecutive World Series without a sweep is the longest ever (h/t Elias Sports Bureau).

Looking Ahead

Gasser earned the win as Peralta took the loss. There was no save.

Game Four between the Brewers and Rays will be Tuesday night at Tropicana Field. The Brewers had yet to announce their starter as of press time, but Griffin Jax (8–10, 3.53 ERA in regular season across 23 starts and 11 relief appearances) will start for the Rays. First pitch will be at 8 pm Eastern/7 pm Central.

If the Brewers win and therefore sweep, they will be the second team to ever sweep the LCS and World Series in the same postseason, joining the 1976 Cincinnati Reds. However, the Brewers would be the first to do it since the LCS expanded to a best-of-seven in 1985.