Takeaways from Brewers’ blowout of Rays

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The change in location did not change the fortunes of the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 3 of the 2026 World Series.

The Milwaukee Brewers shut Tampa Bay down 10-0 on Monday night, riding a historic eight-run fifth inning — with all eight runs coming on two outs — to their third consecutive victory in this Fall Classic, putting them just one win away from their first franchise title and the Rays one loss away from being swept.

We have all the highlights from an action-packed night and postgame takeaways from Tropicana Field.

Key links:How to win World Series | Playoff MVP tracker | Full schedule

Takeaways

Milwaukee Brewers 10, Tampa Bay Rays 1

It was over when …Christian Yelich hauled it to second base in the fifth inning and was ruled safe. It was, in a sense, the personification of these Brewers: A hustle play leads to replay overturning what looked like the final out of the inning, and from there, the Brewers drop eight runs with two outs. They popped seven consecutive hits, using all fields, and did it without a home run. All because Yelich, in a game in which they led 2-0, in a series in which they led 2-0, embraced the idea of a hard 90 and kept alive the inning that will go down in the annals of the 2026 Brewers as the defining frame of a defining season. — Jeff Passan

Game 3 star:Jackson Chourio’s breakout on the national stage continued Monday with a historic night. The 22-year-old left fielder went 4-for-5 with an RBI, two runs scored and a steal. He had two of the hits during Milwaukee’s backbreaking eight-run fifth inning. It was his third straight multihit game to start this World Series. He became the 26th player in history to accomplish that feat — and the youngest.— Jorge Castillo

The stat that defined the game: 5.6.The big question about the Brewers entering the playoffs was whether their style of offense would hold up under the crucible of October pitching. It has. Milwaukee’s offense has been the highest scoring of any of the 12 playoff teams on a per-game basis, and only a quarter of those runs have come via the longball. In the World Series, the Brewers have tripled up the Rays’ run total (18-6) and have hit just one homer — Sal Frelick’s clutch Game 2 solo shot — while doing it. Thus, 5.6% of Milwaukee’s runs have come via the longball during this series. Brewers Ball is championship ball. — Bradford Doolittle

What’s next for Brewers:The Brewers haven’t announced their Game 4 starter yet, but given the way their pitching shakes out and how it has gone this month, you can expect mostly a bullpen game. And, as if the Rays needed any more bad news at this moment: That bullpen will be incredibly fresh, on the heels of back-to-back off-days thanks to the blowout in Game 3.

So, regardless of who opens, you can expect to see a lot of Aaron Ashby, Abner Uribe and Trevor Megill. Shane Drohan and Dustin May are the likely options to go through the Rays’ order the first time, but the Brewers’ bullpen is so deep and so fresh that they could just go with traditional relievers throughout. For all the love given to Megill, Uribe and Ashby in these playoffs, don’t forget JoJo Romero, DL Hall and Antonio Senzatela have been lights out, too. — Alden Gonzalez

What’s next for the Rays:The Rays will turn to some combination of Griffin Jax and a series of relievers to keep their season alive on Tuesday. Jax, their No. 4 starter, could either start or come out of the bullpen as the bulk pitcher after an opener. Ultimately, it won’t matter if the Rays’ offense doesn’t wake up. — Castillo

Most astounding stats from Brewers’ Game 3 blowout

Just how impressive was Milwaukee’s performance on Monday night? Here are some mind-boggling numbers, courtesy of ESPN Research.

The Brewers became the first team to lead a World Series game by 10-plus runs through five innings since the 2007 Red Sox and the first to reach double digits in a World Series without a home run since the 2014 Royals.
The Brewers’ eight two-out runs in the fifth inning are the second most two-out runs in postseason history, trailing the 2020 Dodgers, who scored 10 runs in the first inning of NLCS Game 3.
The Brewers became the first team ever to have seven consecutive batters get a hit in a postseason game.
Since the Rays took a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning of Game 2, the Brewers have scored 15 straight runs.
The 10 runs tie the franchise record for most in a postseason game, matching Milwaukee’s output in 1982 World Series Game 1.
Chourio became the fourth player with four hits in the first five innings of a World Series game, joining George Brett (1985), Mickey Mantle (1960) and Joe Dugan (1923)
Chourio is also the youngest player (22 years, 229 days) with four hits in a World Series game since Joe Garagiola in 1946 (20 years, 240 days).