The World Series shifts into Game 2 with both clubs turning to arms they trust, and Milwaukee is sticking with the same group it used last night. The Brewers will send Logan Henderson to the mound against Tampa Bay ace Drew Rasmussen, who gets the ball on an extra day of rest after the Rays opened with Nick Martinez in Game 1.
Rasmussen has been the headline pitcher of these playoffs. In three postseason starts, the 31-year-old right-hander has piled up 23 strikeouts against just three walks, worked an average of seven innings per outing, and posted a 1.29 ERA with a 2.58 FIP.
His first outing was a masterpiece against the Yankees: eight innings, 10 strikeouts, one hit, two walks, and no runs in a 1-0 win. He then handled the ALCS with two more strong turns, allowing only two solo homers over six innings in one start and then going seven innings with six strikeouts and one run allowed in a Game 5 win.
That October run has only reinforced what he did during the regular season, when he went 16-5 with a 2.67 ERA and a 2.82 FIP. Rasmussen also led the league in WHIP at 0.913 and strikeout-to-walk ratio at 5.44, while allowing just 1.7 walks per nine. That makes tonight an interesting matchup against a Milwaukee lineup that works counts as well as almost anyone.
There’s a Brewers connection here, too. Milwaukee drafted Rasmussen in the sixth round in 2018, and he debuted for the club in 2020.
Then came the May 21, 2021 trade that sent him to Tampa in the deal that brought Willy Adames to Milwaukee. Rasmussen’s rise into ace territory has made that one sting a little more, though the Brewers also came away with the draft pick that became Brady Ebel.
Henderson enters his third postseason start still chasing the version of himself Milwaukee saw in the regular season. He was 11-3 with a 2.47 ERA and a 5.79 K:BB ratio, better than Rasmussen’s American-League-leading mark, while matching the Tampa right-hander at 1.7 walks per nine and striking out batters at a higher rate.
In the playoffs, though, the results have been messier. Henderson has given up six runs across two starts, but only three earned.
Against the Padres, he allowed just two hits over five innings but also walked three and was charged with two runs, one earned, in a Brewers win. In Game 2 of the NLCS against Los Angeles, he worked four innings, walked two, yielded three hits, and gave up four runs, though only two were earned, before Milwaukee rallied for a 7-4 victory. The Brewers are also hoping to see the version of Henderson who stayed steady all season and not the one who struggled with two bad throws to first that gave the Dodgers a pair of runs in the NLCS.
Milwaukee is not changing its batting order from Game 1. Jackson Chourio leads off, followed by Jake Bauers, Christian Yelich, William Contreras, Brice Turang, Garrett Mitchell, Cooper Pratt, Sal Frelick, and David Hamilton.
Tampa Bay, meanwhile, made one tweak. Richie Palacios moves in at second base in place of Ben Williamson after hitting .364 in the postseason.
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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 🡒]
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 🡒]
Aaron Ashby Is Giving The Brewers A World Series X-Factor
Aaron Ashby has quietly become one of the Brewers most important arms this October, the kind of multi-inning reliever every contender hopes to find when the games tighten up. Pat Murphy has leaned on him for more than a quick appearance, trusting Ashby to bridge innings and steady the bullpen while Milwaukee has pushed deeper into the postseason.
The results have been hard to ignore. Ashby has not allowed a run in the playoffs, piling up wins and saves along the way, and his ability to keep delivering in high-leverage spots has given the Brewers a real edge as the World Series has unfolded. For a team built on depth and matchup flexibility, his emergence has added another layer to a bullpen that already had to carry a heavy load. [Read more 🡒]