ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Jackson Chourio set the tone at the plate, Brice Turang unleashed a historic offensive explosion and Robert Gasser closed the door on the mound.
The Milwaukee Brewers are one win away from their first World Series title after beating the Tampa Bay Rays 10-1 on Monday night thanks to a trio of young players who shined in October.
Chourio in book Milwaukee’s eight-run fifth inning with two of his four hits, and Turang’s two-run single opened a scoring barrage with two outs.
“He’s been great. Locked in. It gives us a big boost,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said of Chourio, who had eight hits in three Series games.
Gassera rookie left-hander, threw a one-hitter and faced the minimum six innings as Milwaukee took a 3-0 lead in this Fall Classic. Game 4 is Tuesday night at Tropicana Field, where many Brewers fans showed up Monday and cheered behind the visitors’ dugout.
“It’s really cool to have that support when you go on the road in such an intense atmosphere,” Gasser said. “Normally it’s 35,000 to nine, but tonight we had 20,000 people behind us.”
Gasser allowed a line drive single to Yandy Díaz leading off the bottom of the first, then gave up 14 straight before Victor Mesa Jr. walked to start Tampa Bay’s sixth.
With the help of a caught fly and a double play, Gasser became the first starter to face the minimum 18 batters in six innings of a World Series game since Arizona’s Curt Schilling in 2001 – and the first left-hander to do so since Sandy Koufax for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1965.
Chourio finished 4 for 5 with a double. Turang and William Contreras each went 3-for-5 as Milwaukee piled up 16 hits against “Fastball Freddy” Peralta and five relievers to win its eighth straight game – tying the single-playoff series record.
“I think you could say it’s one of my best games,” Chourio said through a translator. “In reality, I took every at-bat like it was my last and tried to find any way I could to get on base.”
Of the previous 43 major league teams to fall behind 3-0 in a best-of-seven playoff series, only the 2004 Boston Red Sox rallied to win four straight by beating the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series.
“It’s kind of that chip-and-chair mentality,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “We have a seat at the table. We have to do something with the chip. Obviously the only thing we can do is win tomorrow.”
Gasser became the first Milwaukee starter to get a sixth-inning out in the postseason. He allowed one run in 15 innings in three starts, all on the road.
Peralta, the MVP of the ALCS against Cleveland, ran out of gas against the Brewers. He was charged with five runs and seven hits in 4 2/3 innings against his former team.
After two tense one-run games in Milwaukee, the Brewers put this one out of reach in the fifth with a postseason record seven consecutive hits – all with two outs.
It was the first time in World Series history that a team scored eight runs with two outs in a single inning.
“I was sitting in the dugout getting ready to go. There were two outs, and then 40 minutes later I have to go out on the field,” Gasser said. “It was special. I had a smile on my face the whole time. It’s just surreal when something like that happens.”
Chourio started the rally with a one-out single and stole second with two outs. Christian Yelich walked and Peralta popped out after Contreras’ infield single loaded the bases.
It looked like the inning was over when third baseman Junior Caminero fielded Contreras’ bouncer and threw to second for an apparent out. But the call in the second was overturned after a replay review, and Cam Booser entered.
Turang ripped a liner that shortstop Taylor Walls couldn’t recover on a short hop. It bounced off his glove and rolled into shallow center field for a two-run single.
“Knife in the chest,” Walls said.
Garrett Mitchell followed with an RBI single, Cooper Pratt hit a two-run double down the left field line and Sal Frelick lined a run-scoring double to make it 8-0.
“It’s really deflating,” Cash said. “How could it not be?” »
Cole Sulser replaced Booser and allowed an RBI single to David Hamilton and an RBI double to the 22-year-old Chourio, who became the second-youngest player with four hits and a stolen base in a World Series game behind Ty Cobb in 1908.
Brandon Woodruff pitched the ninth for the Brewers, allowing one run and two hits in his first appearance in 3 1/2 months. The two-time All-Star had been sidelined with a shoulder injury that was originally expected to require surgery.
Also seeking its first championship, Tampa Bay made uncharacteristic mistakes on goal and defense in the first two games in Milwaukee. Then the Rays completely fell apart at home in their first series game at Tropicana Field since 2008.
Dressed in their white Devil Rays uniforms, they were eager to play in front of their fans in the quirky and cavernous Trop, whose roof was shredded by Hurricane Milton in October 2024 and was in need of major renovations.
But Rays fans ringing bells and waving towels among a sellout crowd of 40,388 couldn’t help the home team against the surging Brewers.
Griffin Jax is expected to start Game 4 for Tampa Bay. Milwaukee had not announced a starter.
Of the previous 25 teams that took a 3-0 lead in the World Series, 21 were swept and four won in five games.
With a victory in Game 4, the Brewers would become the first team to win an LCS and a World Series since the Cincinnati Reds in 1976.
“We prepared a lot for this day,” Chourio said. “We have one more to book for tomorrow to complete the mission.”
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