The World Series moves to Florida on Monday night, and the team with everything to lose is the one playing at home. Milwaukee leads Tampa Bay 2-0 after two tight games at American Family Field, and Game 3 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg starts at 8 p.m. Eastern time. The Brewers won the opener 3-2 on Friday and took Game 2 by 5-4 on Saturday, erasing a four run deficit along the way.
A familiar face on the mound
The pitching matchup gives Game 3 its sharpest edge. Freddy Peralta, the former Brewers ace, starts for the Rays after rebuilding his season in Tampa Bay, while Milwaukee counters with left hander Robert Gasser. Peralta knows the Milwaukee lineup as well as any pitcher in baseball, and the Brewers know what he throws and how he thinks. That familiarity cuts both ways, and the first trip through the order could decide the night. Tampa Bay needs length from its starter after a bullpen heavy opening weekend, while Milwaukee can afford to be patient and wait for the middle innings that have served it so well.
What a 2-0 lead has meant before
History is on Milwaukee’s side, and the Rays know it. Teams that take a 2-0 lead in a best of seven World Series have gone on to win about 81 percent of the time, according to reports of the series history. That number is a warning, not a verdict, because Tampa Bay has already shown it can build big leads, scoring four runs in the first inning of Game 2 before letting the game slip away. The Rays’ task on Monday is simpler to state than to do: play clean baseball, protect an early lead if they get one, and give their home crowd a reason to believe the series is still alive. For Milwaukee, the task is to stay ruthless, because a 3-0 lead would leave Tampa Bay needing four straight wins against a team that has not lost its nerve all October. The World Series schedule leaves no room for a slow start, and neither club can afford one on Monday night.
