Freddy Peralta
Freddy Peralta

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.,— The Tampa Bay Rays will hand the ball to a familiar face on Monday night, trying to stop the Milwaukee Brewers from moving one win away from their first World Series title.

Freddy Peralta, who spent eight seasons pitching for Milwaukee, starts Game 3 for the Rays at Tropicana Field. Tampa Bay trails 2-0 after losing both games in Milwaukee by a single run. First pitch is scheduled for 8 p.m. EDT, and the game airs on Fox.

The Brewers will counter with left-hander Robert Gasser.

Milwaukee has won seven straight games and has rallied from behind repeatedly this postseason. Of the 57 previous teams to take a 2-0 lead in the World Series, 46 went on to win the championship.

Peralta's homecoming in reverse

Few players in this series carry as much history as Peralta.

The right-hander pitched for the Brewers from 2018 through 2025. He went 70-42 with a 3.59 ERA and made two All-Star teams, becoming a fan favorite in Milwaukee. In January, the Brewers traded him to the New York Mets for pitcher Brandon Sproat and infielder Jett Williams.

His time in New York was difficult. Peralta went 5-9 with a 4.99 ERA before the Mets traded him to Tampa Bay at the deadline for prospects Aidan Smith, Émilien Pitre and Gary Gill Hill.

"For some reason, things weren't going my way," Peralta said.

He struggled in his first four starts with the Rays, allowing 17 runs in 21 1/3 innings, then turned his season around. He went 5-2 with a 3.25 ERA in 10 regular-season starts for Tampa Bay and was named MVP of the American League Championship Series.

Tampa Bay has won each of Peralta's last nine starts, and he has a 0.90 ERA over that stretch. This postseason he is 2-0 with a 1.08 ERA, allowing two runs in 16 2/3 innings.

"I feel like he's kind of come back to being Freddy Peralta with us," Rays manager Kevin Cash said.

Cash held Peralta back for the series' first two games so he could pitch at Tropicana Field, where he has thrived in three playoff starts. If the series goes six or seven games, Peralta could also pitch in Milwaukee.

Peralta acknowledged the unusual situation of facing the team that developed him.

"It is a little weird," he said Saturday.

He said that during the first two games, he and the Brewers' bullpen exchanged messages of goodwill. "We still love you," he said they told him.

His former teammates expect to see the pitcher they know. "We knew when he faced us (with) the Mets, that wasn't him," Brewers right-hander Brandon Woodruff said.

"He's in his element, man," Brewers manager Pat Murphy said.

Gasser gets the call

Gasser, a left-hander, has been effective in limited postseason work. He has a 1.00 ERA with six strikeouts this October. He last pitched in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series, when he threw five scoreless innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Milwaukee's bullpen has been a strength throughout the playoffs. In Game 2, five relievers combined for six scoreless innings after starter Logan Henderson gave up four runs, three earned, in three innings.

How Milwaukee got here

The Brewers won the opener 3-2 on Friday. Tampa Bay's late rally fell short.

Game 2 on Saturday followed a pattern Milwaukee has made familiar this postseason. The Rays jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning, helped by a two-run home run from catcher Liam Hicks. The Brewers answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning and steadily chipped away:

  • David Hamilton's RBI groundout cut the lead to 4-3 in the fourth.
  • Sal Frelick tied the game with a solo homer to center field in the sixth, his first home run in three months.
  • In the seventh, Brice Turang doubled and Cooper Pratt drove him in with a go-ahead single to right.

Abner Uribe pitched 1 1/3 hitless innings for the win, and Aaron Ashby closed it out for his third save of the postseason. The Rays put the tying run on third base in the ninth but could not score.

"As long as there's game left, we have a chance," Pratt said.

"I don't hit a lot of home runs, especially to center, so I was happy it went out," Frelick said.

Game 2 was Milwaukee's seventh comeback victory of the postseason. The Brewers became the fifth team to overcome two four-run deficits in a single postseason, and the first since the 2022 Philadelphia Phillies.

Keys for the Rays

Tampa Bay's problems have come with runners on base. The Rays went 3 for 14 with runners in scoring position in Game 2, and their lineup managed just seven hits.

Third baseman Junior Caminero, first baseman Jonathan Aranda and outfielder Chandler Simpson will need to give Peralta more support. Defense has also been an issue for both teams. Milwaukee has made nine errors in 10 postseason games, including Pratt's fourth of the playoffs on Saturday.

Tampa Bay's bullpen will also be under scrutiny after Tyler Wells took the loss in Game 2, allowing the go-ahead run in the seventh.

Keys for the Brewers

Milwaukee's lineup has been resilient, if not overpowering. Catcher William Contreras and outfielders Jackson Chourio and Frelick each had two hits in Game 2. The Brewers outhit the Rays 11-7.

Facing Peralta, who knows many of their hitters well, Milwaukee may need its patient approach to drive up his pitch count and get to the Tampa Bay bullpen.

What's at stake

A Brewers win would put them one victory from their first championship. Milwaukee could clinch as soon as Wednesday in Game 5 at Tropicana Field.

The Rays, who have never won the World Series since the franchise began play in 1998, are looking to turn the series around at home. Games 4 and 5 are also scheduled for St. Petersburg on Tuesday and Wednesday. If needed, Games 6 and 7 would return to Milwaukee on Friday and Saturday.

Despite trailing in the series, Tampa Bay is a slight favorite in Game 3 according to win probability projections, largely because of Peralta and home field.