Brewers One Win Away: How Milwaukee’s 10-1 Game 3 Rout Put a First World Series Title Within Reach
The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 10-1 in World Series Game 3 on Monday, 26 October 2026, at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, and now lead the best-of-seven series 3-0. For an external account, see the Reuters Game 3 report.
One win in Game 4 on Tuesday night would give Milwaukee its first World Series championship in franchise history — and, if it comes in a sweep, would make the Brewers the first team to sweep both the League Championship Series and the World Series since the 1976 Cincinnati Reds.
The turning point was not close. Milwaukee scored eight runs with two outs in the fifth inning, turning a 2-0 game into a 10-0 lead. For related sports photography, see Fiona Goodall sports photography.
How Game 3 was won: the eight-run fifth inning
Milwaukee had already taken a 2-0 lead in the third inning. Jackson Chourio singled, advanced on a walk, and scored on Christian Yelich’s single to left field. William Contreras then singled to score Jake Bauers.
The fifth inning is where the game broke open, and it started with a replay review. Yelich was initially called out at second base to end the inning. The call was overturned, the bases were loaded, and Milwaukee never looked back.
From there, in order:
- Brice Turang drove a two-run single after working a 2-2 count, scoring Chourio and Yelich.
- Garrett Mitchell added an RBI single.
- Cooper Pratt bounced a two-run double over the third-base bag.
- Sal Frelick delivered an RBI double to make it 8-0.
- David Hamilton greeted a new reliever with an RBI single.
- Chourio capped the inning with a run-scoring double, making it 10-0.
All eight runs came with two outs — a World Series record for two-out runs in an inning, according to the Elias Sports Bureau as reported after the game. Seven Brewers in a row hit safely, a first in any postseason game, according to OptaSTATS.
Tampa Bay scored once in the ninth inning. The final line was Milwaukee 10 runs on 16 hits, Tampa Bay 1 run on 3 hits.
Game 3 line score by inning
| Inning | Rays | Brewers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | 0 | 8 |
| 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | 1 | 0 |
| Final | 1 | 10 |
Robert Gasser’s six shutout innings
While the fifth inning will dominate highlights, Milwaukee’s pitching set it up.
Robert Gasser threw six shutout innings, allowing just one hit and one walk, striking out three, and facing the minimum 18 batters. The only hit was Yandy Díaz’s single to lead off the first inning. After that, Díaz was forced out at second, Chandler Simpson was caught stealing, and Victor Mesa Jr. was erased on a double play in the sixth.
Gasser’s postseason ERA after Game 3 was 0.60 over three starts, with just one run allowed in 15 innings in the postseason.
Brandon Woodruff, pitching for the first time since 4 July after a shoulder injury, closed the game in the ninth. He allowed one run, but the result was already decided.
Jackson Chourio and the players who changed the game
Jackson Chourio, left fielder
Chourio led off the game with a single and finished 4-for-5, with a double, a stolen base, two runs scored, and an RBI. Two of his hits came in the fifth inning. He is 8-for-14 with four runs in the first three World Series games, and has nine RBIs this postseason.
Brice Turang, second baseman
Turang finished 3-for-5 with two RBIs, and his two-run single in the fifth was the hit that turned pressure into a rout. He also contributed with the glove.
William Contreras
Contreras was 3-for-5 in Game 3, part of a 16-hit Milwaukee attack that gave Gasser more support than he needed.
Freddy Peralta, Rays starter
Peralta, nicknamed “Fastball Freddy,” took the loss. Milwaukee’s fifth-inning rally came after he left the game, but the damage started against Tampa Bay’s bullpen after the overturned call kept the inning alive.
The numbers behind Milwaukee’s October run
Game 3 was not an isolated hot night. It extended a run that has put Milwaukee alongside some famous October teams:
- 8 straight postseason wins: Milwaukee has not lost since Game 3 of the National League Division Series at San Diego. That eight-game winning streak ties the 2019 Washington Nationals, 2014 Kansas City Royals, 2005 Chicago White Sox, and 2004 Boston Red Sox for the longest postseason winning streaks in the expanded-playoff era. All but the Royals went on to win the World Series.
- 10-1 in the postseason: Milwaukee’s overall postseason record after Game 3.
- 103 regular-season wins: Milwaukee led the majors in the regular season, beat the Padres in four games in the NLDS, and swept the Dodgers in the NLCS.
- 3-0 series lead history: Of the 25 previous teams to take a 3-0 lead in a World Series, 21 swept and four won in five games. None lost the series.
That last number is why Game 4 matters so much for Tampa Bay, and why it is not quite a formality for Milwaukee. A 3-0 lead is historically decisive, but it is not yet a championship.
What Game 4 means — and what is still not confirmed
Game 4 is scheduled for Tuesday night at Tropicana Field, the same building as Game 3.
For Milwaukee: One win ends a championship drought that stretches back to the franchise’s origins. Originally the Seattle Pilots for one season in 1969, the franchise moved to Milwaukee and was renamed the Brewers in 1970.
Its only other World Series trip came as an American League team and ended with a Game 7 loss to St. Louis in 1982. Manager Pat Murphy, 67, is leading that chase.
For Tampa Bay: The Rays also have never won a World Series in 29 seasons, losing to Philadelphia in five games in 2008 and to the Dodgers in six games in 2020. They led the American League with 98 wins in the regular season, swept the Yankees in the Division Series, and beat the Guardians in six games in the ALCS — which makes the Game 3 unraveling, after two one-run losses in Milwaukee, harder to explain than a simple talent gap.
Neither team had officially named a Game 4 starter as of Tuesday morning.
What is confirmed is the stakes: Milwaukee can sweep, Tampa Bay must win to stay alive, and Game 5 — if needed — would also be in St. Petersburg before the series would return to Milwaukee.
Frequently asked questions
What was the score of Brewers vs. Rays World Series Game 3?
Milwaukee won 10-1 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg on 26 October 2026.
How did the Brewers score eight runs in the fifth inning?
After a replay review overturned an out call at second base and loaded the bases, Milwaukee scored eight runs with two outs. Seven Brewers in a row hit safely, a postseason first.
Who pitched well for Milwaukee in Game 3?
Robert Gasser threw six shutout innings, allowing one hit and one walk and facing the minimum 18 batters. His postseason ERA after the game was 0.60 over three starts.
Can the Brewers sweep the World Series in Game 4?
Yes. Milwaukee leads 3-0, so a Game 4 win on Tuesday night would complete a sweep and give the Brewers their first World Series title. A win would also make them the first team to sweep both the LCS and World Series since the 1976 Cincinnati Reds.
Have the Brewers ever won the World Series before?
No. Their only previous World Series appearance was in 1982, when they lost to St. Louis in seven games.
Who are the Game 4 starting pitchers?
Neither team had officially named a Game 4 starter as of Tuesday morning.
Game 3 was the night Milwaukee’s October run stopped looking like a hot streak and started looking like history. An eight-run, two-out fifth inning, a near-perfect start from Robert Gasser, and a 16-hit attack gave the Brewers a 3-0 lead that, historically, almost always ends in a championship.
Tampa Bay’s task in Game 4 is simple to state and hard to do: win one game at home, stop the streak, and force the series back to Milwaukee. Milwaukee’s task is simpler still — win one more, and end a drought that began before most of its players were born.
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