World Series Game 2 Preview: Red-Hot Rasmussen Faces Former Team as Rays Try to Stop Brewers From Going Up 2-0

MILWAUKEE — The Tampa Bay Rays will hand the ball to their hottest pitcher Saturday night, and he has a Milwaukee connection. Drew Rasmussen starts Game 2 of the World Series hoping to even the series before it moves to Florida.

The Milwaukee Brewers lead 1-0 after holding off a ninth-inning Rays rally for a 3-2 win in Friday's opener at American Family Field. Game 2 starts at 8 p.m. EDT on Fox, with Spanish-language coverage on Fox Deportes and streaming on Fox One.

Milwaukee sends right-hander Logan Henderson to the mound, looking to take a two-game lead in the franchise's first World Series since 1982.

Rasmussen's homecoming of sorts

Rasmussen was drafted by the Brewers in 2018 and traded to Tampa Bay in 2021. He has become one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball over the second half of the season.

Since the All-Star break, the right-hander is 11-0 with a 1.73 ERA, 99 strikeouts and 18 walks in 93⅔ innings, according to MLB.com. Tampa Bay has won 14 of his 15 starts in that span. For the regular season, he went 16-5 with a 2.67 ERA and 174 strikeouts.

He has also been sharp in October. He has pitched into the seventh inning in each of his three postseason starts, allowing three runs combined over 21 innings.

Rasmussen made clear he holds no grudge against his old team.

"Had the Brewers been playing anyone else in the World Series, man, I'd be rooting for them," he said.

Henderson's challenge

Henderson, 24, went 11-3 with a 2.47 ERA during the regular season. Milwaukee is 21-4 in his 25 career starts, including 2-0 this postseason.

His last outing was his roughest. In Game 2 of the NL Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, he allowed four runs, two of them earned, after two throwing errors. It was the first time in 25 career starts he had given up more than three runs.

How Game 1 unfolded

Milwaukee struck first. Jackson Chourio led off the first inning with a single, and Christian Yelich drove him in with a two-out triple off Rays starter Nick Martinez. William Contreras followed with an RBI single for a 2-0 lead.

Brewers starter Jacob Misiorowski allowed one run over five innings. His first pitch, 103.5 mph, was the fastest pitch recorded in World Series history. Tampa Bay scored in the fourth when Junior Caminero doubled and Jonathan Aranda came home on a groundout.

Chourio added an insurance run in the seventh, driving in Cooper Pratt with a two-out hit.

"He's special. He's got special ability to compete at the big time," Brewers manager Pat Murphy said of Chourio.

The ninth inning nearly turned the game. Closer Trevor Megill entered with a 3-1 lead and gave up back-to-back singles. A double steal and a walk then loaded the bases. Liam Hicks bounced into what looked like a game-ending double play, but replay showed Pratt's foot was off second base. The call was overturned, a run scored and the Rays had two runners in scoring position. Megill then struck out Jonny DeLuca to end the game.

Rays manager Kevin Cash praised Martinez, who allowed just the two first-inning runs over five innings with five strikeouts.

"Nick didn't let the two runs early on factor into anything else once he went out for the second inning," Cash said.

Rays shortstop Taylor Walls said he expects more close games.

"Hopefully every game's like that, to be honest, but we end up on the other side of it," he said.

Bullpens and lineups

Tampa Bay's bullpen is well rested. Steven Matz was the only Rays reliever to throw more than 12 pitches Friday. Closer Bryan Baker, Cam Booser, Tyler Wells and Ian Seymour are all available.

Milwaukee has leaned heavily on its top relievers. Aaron Ashby, Abner Uribe and Megill have thrown 28⅓ of the team's 44⅔ postseason bullpen innings. Ashby pitched two scoreless innings in Game 1. Left-handers DL Hall and JoJo Romero are other options.

Right-hander Brandon Woodruff, added to the World Series roster, did not pitch in Game 1. He has not appeared in a game since July 4 and has been working as a reliever.

Aranda went 3-for-3 with a walk in the opener, and Chandler Simpson had two hits. Caminero, who hit 42 homers during the regular season, hit a ball 112.7 mph Friday. But several Rays hitters are struggling. Victor Mesa Jr. is batting .147 this postseason, and DeLuca is hitting .176.

Contreras has been Milwaukee's most dangerous hitter, with a 1.184 postseason OPS. He had two hits in Game 1, as did Chourio.

What history says

Teams that win Game 1 of the World Series go on to win the title about 64% of the time. If Milwaukee wins Saturday, it would be the 58th team to take a 2-0 Series lead. Of those, 80.7% have won the championship.

Tampa Bay has lost all three World Series openers in franchise history but is 2-0 in Game 2s.

Game 1 featured no home runs, the first World Series opener without a homer since 2000. Both teams rely on pitching, defense and small ball. The Rays struck out the fewest times in the majors this season and laid down the most sacrifice bunts by an AL team since 2015.

Sportsbooks list Milwaukee as a slight favorite, with an over/under of 6½ runs.

The road ahead

The Brewers went 103-59, the best record in the majors, and 55-26 at home. The Rays went 98-64 and won the AL East. Milwaukee won three of four regular-season meetings between the teams.

After Saturday, the Series moves to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, for Games 3, 4 and 5 starting Monday. Tampa Bay plans to start Freddy Peralta, the ALCS MVP and a former Brewer, in Game 3.

Neither franchise has won a World Series, so the eventual champion will be a first-timer.