We’re on the verge of baseball history, folks. Tonight, the Milwaukee Brewers could become World Series champions for the first time in the 58-year history of the franchise.
The Brewers, who had the best record in baseball during the regular season, have steamrolled their opponents in these playoffs. They’re 10-1 so far, taking three out of four from the Padres in the Division Series and sweeping the Dodgers in the NLCS, and are now on the verge of a second straight sweep and a ninth consecutive win.
After squeaking past the Rays with a pair of one-run wins in Milwaukee, the Brewers delivered a beatdown in last night’s Game 3 in Tampa Bay. Their eight-run fifth inning — which featured seven consecutive two-out hits — allowed them to build an insurmountable lead and give all of their high-leverage relievers some much-needed rest.
I must say, the Brewers’ offensive approach is a joy to behold, and it’s almost unrecognizable to Orioles fans. Two-out hits! Hitting to the opposite field! Grinding out at-bats! Scoring 10 runs without any homers! Who knew that a team could succeed without just trying to pull the ball in the air all the time? Someone alert the O’s coaching staff.
Now the Brewers are in an enviable position. They have all of their best bullpen arms available to try to string together 27 outs tonight. And even if they can’t seal the deal today, they’ll have a fully rested Jacob Misiorowski ready for Game 5. Chances are good that they’ll win the championship without the series ever needing to head back to Milwaukee. It’s a shame that they can’t clinch in front of the home crowd, but considering how many Milwaukee fans were in the stands at Tropicana Field tonight, the Brewers will have no shortage of supporters on hand.
Starting for the Rays tonight is Griffin Jax, representing Tampa Bay’s last hope to stay alive in the series. No MLB team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a World Series, and it’s only happened once in any postseason series, the memorable 2004 Red Sox takedown of the Yankees in the ALCS. The Rays were the AL’s best team this year, but I’m not sure they have the juice for that kind of comeback.
Only once before have the Brewers been within a win of a championship. That came in 1982, their only previous World Series appearance, when they built a 3-2 series lead over the Cardinals before suffering a blowout loss in Game 6 and a heartbreaking defeat in Game 7. They’ve waited 44 long years to get back to the Fall Classic, and 57 years to win one. Will it happen tonight?
