"No team that won three straight after a WS loss had ever reached Game 6" — Milwaukee is just one win away from settling a 44-year grudge, with a once-in-50-years feat also within reach

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

It is now just one win away from settling a grudge waited upon for 44 years. The Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB) are on the verge of not only their first World Series championship in franchise history but also a record that has eluded them for a whopping 50 years.

Milwaukee will face the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 4 of the 2026 MLB World Series (best-of-seven series) at 9:00 a.m. on the 28th (Korean time) at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, USA.

The series record stands at three wins and no losses for Milwaukee. One more victory will see them reach the pinnacle of the World Series for the first time since their founding in 1969. It is also a championship they have waited 44 years to claim after falling to the St. Louis Cardinals with a record of three wins and four losses in 1982. At that time, Milwaukee was a member of the American League.

Milwaukee's postseason performance this year has been dominant. After recording the highest winning percentage in all of MLB with a regular-season record of 103 wins and 59 losses, they defeated the San Diego Padres three games to one in the National League Division Series (NLDS). They then completely dismantled the Los Angeles Dodgers, who were aiming for a third consecutive World Series title, by winning four straight games in the National League Championship Series (NLCS).

The momentum has continued into the World Series. It was not easy from Game 1. Milwaukee took an early lead with a go-ahead triple by Christian Yelich (35) in the first inning, while starting pitcher Jacob Misiorowski (24) pitched well, allowing one run over five innings. In the ninth inning, Tampa Bay closed the gap to one run and loaded the bases with two outs, but closer Trevor Megill struck out the final batter to preserve a 3-2 victory.

In Game 2, Milwaukee's late-game strength was fully displayed. Although Tampa Bay scored four runs in the first inning to take a 4-0 lead, Milwaukee immediately cut the deficit to two runs. After recovering one more run in the fourth inning, Sal Frelick (26) hit a tying solo home run in the sixth. In the seventh, rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt (22) delivered a go-ahead hit, and Aaron Ashby shut down the ninth inning to complete a 5-4 victory.

And in Game 3, they completely shifted the momentum of the series in Milwaukee's favor. After taking a 2-0 lead in the second inning on consecutive hits by Yelich and William Contreras, Milwaukee poured out a staggering eight runs in the fifth inning alone. Moreover, all of those runs came with two outs. The inning continued after Yelich, who had been called out at second base on a ground ball by Contreras, was overturned to safe following a video review. Following Bryce Turang's two-RBI hit, Garrett Mitchell, Cooper Pratt, Sal Frelick, David Hamilton, and Jackson Chourio all collected hits in succession.

Milwaukee recorded the first seven consecutive hits in postseason history and set a World Series record for the most runs scored with two outs in a single inning: eight. The result was a decisive 10-1 victory.

Chourio went 4-for-5 in Game 3 alone. In three World Series games, he has a .571 batting average (8 hits in 14 at-bats), with three stolen bases and four runs scored. Contreras is also on fire with a .538 World Series batting average. Frelick has also made his presence felt on both offense and defense, including his tying home run in Game 2.

On the other hand, the Tampa Bay lineup has been pushed to the brink. They have managed only one run and seven hits over the last 17 innings. Only Jonathan Aranda and Chandler Simpson have recorded more than two hits in the World Series. Yandy Diaz had two hits in Game 3, but the overall offensive slump is severe.

The Milwaukee pitching staff is also performing well. Starting pitcher Robert Gasser allowed only one hit over six innings in Game 3, shutting out the opposition. Thanks to a large 10-1 lead, Milwaukee will face Game 4 without using their bullpen, including Ashby, Abner Uribe, and Trevor Megill.

The starting pitchers for Game 4 have also been confirmed. Milwaukee will field right-hander Dustin May. May has been used out of the bullpen in this postseason and warmed up by pitching one scoreless inning in World Series Game 2. Tampa Bay will send right-hander Griffin Jax to the mound. Jax has allowed four runs over six innings with a 6.00 ERA in two postseason games. However, in his last four regular-season starts, he showed strong form by allowing only one run over 18 innings.

Milwaukee set its starting lineup in the following order: Jackson Chourio (left fielder) - Jake Bauers (first baseman) - Christian Yelich (designated hitter) - William Contreras (catcher) - Bryce Turang (second baseman) - Sal Frelick (right fielder) - Cooper Pratt (shortstop) - Garrett Mitchell (center fielder) - David Hamilton (third baseman). While keeping the top five hitters in their original spots, they moved Frelick up to sixth and dropped Mitchell to eighth.

Tampa Bay made changes to its batting order from a do-or-die situation. Yandy Diaz (designated hitter) - Jonathan Aranda (first baseman) - Junior Caminero (third baseman) - Liam Hicks (catcher) - Johnny DeLuca (center fielder) - Chandler Simpson (left fielder) - Ryan Villaide (right fielder) - Rich Palacios (second baseman) - Taylor Walls (shortstop) will start the game.

Aranda, who sat out as a starter in Game 3, returns to the second spot, and Hicks will wear the catcher's mask. Simpson moved down from fifth to sixth, and Palacios starts at second base. To escape a three-game losing streak, Manager Kevin Cash has essentially brought back his best available combination.

History is now just one step away. According to MLB.com, in the history of best-of-seven postseason series, teams leading 3-0 have won the series 42 times out of 43 occasions. Of those, 33 ended in a four-game sweep. The only team to come back from a 0-3 deficit is the Boston Red Sox in the 2004 American League Championship Series. In the World Series, there has never been a case where a team down 0-3 dragged the series out to Game 6.

If Milwaukee wins Game 4, another massive record will be set. They would become the first team in 50 years since the Cincinnati Reds' "Big Red Machine" in 1976 to sweep both the League Championship Series and the World Series consecutively. In particular, it is a feat that no team has achieved since the Championship Series was expanded to a best-of-seven format in 1985.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.View Original