Dominant bullpen performance paves way for Brewers' historic comeback in Game 2 of World Series

Game 2 of the 2026 World Series did not start as the Milwaukee Brewers hoped it would. In part due to a throwing error from rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt and in part due to a two-run homer off the bat of Tampa Bay Rays' catcher Liam Hicks, Logan Henderson and the Brewers allowed four runs in the top of the first inning. However, for those familiar with the 2026 Brewers, it was apparent that the game was far from over.

Immediately, in the bottom of the first frame, Milwaukee answered with two runs of their own off Rays' ace Drew Rasmussen. Jackson Chourio and Jake Bauers began the inning with back-to-back singles, giving the Brew Crew runners on the corners with nobody out. Following a strikeout from Christian Yelich, William Contreras perfectly executed a hit-and-run by bouncing an RBI-single through the right side that got the Brewers on the board and advanced Chourio to third base. Garrett Mitchell roped an RBI-single to center field two batters later to quickly cut the Rays' lead down to two.

Milwaukee's first-inning completely shifted the momentum in American Family Field in favor of the Brewers. The crowd, initially discouraged by the early deficit, was reminded of the Brewers' relentlessness and their knack for comebacks. Said manager Pat Murphy on the Brewers' immediate answer, "That first inning meant something, that we bounced back against a pitcher that good. That guy, he's as good as there is out there."

Even after the Brewers' encouraging first-inning at-bats, the work was far from done. Milwaukee still trailed by a pair of runs, and with Henderson's pitch count rising, it was becoming apparent that Murphy would have to turn to his relief corps early. However, as Murphy's club did throughout the regular season when faced with an early deficit, the Brewers continued to chip away.

In the bottom of the fourth, Pratt, who didn't dwell on his first-inning error, drew a one-out, seven-pitch walk, and eventually scored on a fielding error from Rays' first baseman Jonathan Aranda, which cut Tampa Bay's lead down to one.

Two innings after Aranda's crucial Bill Buckner-esque misplay, Sal Frelick came through with the biggest swing of his career. Facing left-hander Ian Seymour, who was second out of the Rays' bullpen, Frelick sent the ninth pitch of his sixth-inning at-bat over the fence in dead center, which tied the game at four runs apiece. Said Frelick on his homer, "[I] was able to spoil a few of those and was just really hoping, because I had seen the sinker earlier, that he would maybe leave one over the plate, and he did."

While the Brewers certainly held the momentum, the comeback was not yet complete. However, that changed in the next inning when Pratt officially redeemed himself for his first-inning error with a go-ahead RBI single in the bottom of the seventh off tough right-hander Kevin Kelly. Pratt blooped a tough sinker into shallow right field to get the job done, and said after the game on his game as a whole, "I need to be better defensively, but it's always awesome when you have an opportunity to redeem yourself and make up for it. Probably wasn't the best swing, but it did the job and gave us the opportunity to score a run. I'm not going to complain about it."

The heroics of Frelick and Pratt undoubtedly deserve credit, but overlooked in the Brewers' improbable victory in Game 2 of the World Series was the dominant six innings that the bullpen turned in.

Brewers' postseason bullpen dominance continues in World Series Game 2 comeback victory over Rays

Milwaukee's comeback wasn't just improbable; it was historic. According to MLB.com statistician Sarah Langs, the Brewers, who already came back from down four runs in their Game 4 NLCS defeat of the Los Angeles Dodgers, became just the fifth team in MLB history to have two comeback wins of 4+ runs in a single postseason.

However, the only reason Milwaukee even had the opportunity to come back in Game 2 of the World Series was the impressive work of their bullpen group. After Henderson's short start of just three innings, the Brewers' bullpen covered the final six innings while allowing just three hits and zero runs.

JoJo Romero, who has quietly been the Brewers' best trade deadline addition, was first out of the 'pen for Milwaukee and covered a scoreless fourth inning. He was followed by Dustin May, with whom he arrived to the Brewers from the St. Louis Cardinals at the trade deadline, who covered a clean fifth inning. May's appearance, which lasted just 12 pitches, certainly doesn't prevent him from covering multiple innings in Game 4 should the Brewers need him to.

DL Hall, who has yet to allow a run in five innings during the postseason, followed May and turned in a scoreless sixth inning, before handing the ball to Abner Uribe for the seventh. Uribe has pitched in all but one of the Brewers' postseason games this year, but the flame-thrower covered the next four outs, during which he faced the top of the Rays' lineup.

That left just five outs for Aaron Ashby, whose 2026 postseason performance has been nothing short of incredible. The southpaw, according to Langs, is the first pitcher in postseason history to get at least five outs in six consecutive appearances without allowing a single run. It's by no means crazy to say that Ashby, who now has three saves to his name in October, has been the most valuable piece of the Brewers' postseason run.

Milwaukee's Game 2 victory undoubtedly included a pair of memorable swings -- one from Frelick and one from Pratt -- that fans won't soon forget, but not to be overlooked is the bullpen performance that gave those two swings their significance. A necessity to any deep postseason run is a dominant bullpen, and the Brewers' group of relievers has been nearly unhittable through Milwaukee's first nine wins in October this year.

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