Aaron Ashby didn’t look rattled when the World Series game tightened in the ninth inning Saturday night. He finished it anyway, and afterward the Brewers left-hander explained the simple routine that helps him handle those moments.
Milwaukee’s 5-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays at American Family Field pushed the Brewers ahead 2-0 in the series, with Ashby earning the save after stepping into a tense finish. When asked if he leans more toward prayer or deep breathing, he said it’s a little of both.
“A lot of breathing, just kind of, you know, praying for peace,” Ashby said, via Lance Allan. “I guess it’s kind of like a home feeling that I’ve felt like I’ve had for a while now, and just kind of continue with that and trust in what’s going on.”
“Praying for peace.” Aaron Ashby explains how he stays calm in high leverage moments like saving Game 2: #Brewers pic.twitter.com/gvZcr7LngA
— Lance Allan (@lanceallan) October 25, 2026
The final inning gave him plenty to manage. Jonny DeLuca opened the ninth with a double, and after a groundout pushed him to third with two outs, Ashby held firm. He ended it by striking out Yandy Diaz on a full-count pitch, leaving the tying run 90 feet from home.
For Ashby, the close score didn’t really change the way he attacked hitters.
“I feel like all the games have been generally pretty close up to this point,” Ashby said. “It doesn’t necessarily change the way that I’m executing pitches or trying to pitch these guys. It really just kind of stays the same: swing and miss or weak contact, preferably swing and miss.”
He also pointed to his catcher as a big reason he can stay in attack mode.
“I feel like I’m just trusting him,” Ashby said. “There’s not a lot of thinking I got to do, and he’s just locked in right now.”
The save was Ashby’s third of the postseason, and his October run has been spotless so far. He has thrown 15 2/3 scoreless innings over eight appearances, a sharp turnaround from his 5.40 playoff ERA last year.
Even with the Brewers holding a 2-0 advantage, Ashby isn’t easing up.
“It feels nice to be up 2-0. So we still got to go there and take care of business,” Ashby said. “This is an incredible lineup, an incredible team that we’re facing across the way over there, and I’m sure they’re going to bring it Game 3.”
Game 3 is scheduled for Monday at Tropicana Field.
In Other News...
Yelich Sent Brewers Fans A Clear Message After That Long-Awaited Win
The wait finally ended Friday night at American Family Field, where the Brewers opened the World Series with a win over the Rays and celebrated their first Fall Classic victory in 44 years. Christian Yelich played a key part in getting Milwaukee there, driving in a run with an RBI triple as the Brewers grabbed the kind of early momentum that has been so hard to come by on baseballs biggest stage.
Yelichs message afterward was a simple one: enjoy it briefly, then move on. With Game 2 set for Milwaukee, the Brewers know one breakthrough is only the beginning, and the challenge now is carrying that same edge into the next night without letting the emotional high from the opener linger too long. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Face A Huge Game 2 Test With World Series Control At Stake
Milwaukees narrow Game 1 win gave the Brewers an early grip on the World Series, but the margin was thin enough that Tuesday night already feels like a swing game. Tampa Bay is turning to Drew Rasmussen for Game 2, a pitcher who has been sharp throughout the postseason, while Milwaukee will answer with Logan Henderson as it tries to keep control of the series and protect home-field momentum after surviving a late rally.
Rasmussens path makes the matchup even more intriguing, with the postseason stage now putting one of the Rays most reliable arms opposite a Brewers club that has spent October leaning on depth and timely offense. Henderson gets the ball with plenty at stake and a lineup behind him that will need to keep applying pressure early, because a second straight tight game would leave Milwaukee one step from a commanding position, and one mistake from letting Tampa Bay reset the tone. [Read more 🡒]
Abner Uribe Just Forced A Big Brewers World Series Decision
Jacob Misiorowskis raw velocity was there in Game 1 of the World Series, but so were the familiar command questions, and that pushed Pat Murphy into the bullpen earlier than planned. From there, the Brewers leaned on a relief group that kept Tampa Bay bottled up, with Jacob Misiorowski, Aaron Ashby, Abner Uribe and Trevor Megill combining to allow just one run as Milwaukee opened the series looking every bit like a team willing to win ugly if that is what the matchup demands.
Uribes piece of that effort carried extra weight after his shaky NLCS and the long layoff that had clouded his role entering the Fall Classic. Used in a modified capacity, he looked effective enough to restore some confidence in Murphys late-inning hierarchy, and the manager made clear afterward that the right-hander remains very much in the mix for a heavy workload. The question now is not whether Uribe can be trusted in the moment, but how far Milwaukee is willing to push him after already having to manage his usage once earlier in the postseason. [Read more 🡒]