Latest / Tampa Bay Rays Weekly / Tampa Bay Rays Game Review — Oct 23, 2026: 2-3 vs Milwaukee Brewers

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Tampa Bay Rays Game Review — Oct 23, 2026: 2-3 vs Milwaukee Brewers · Tampa Bay Rays Weekly

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Hey, everyone. I'm Mike Michelson. I hope you're all doing
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: okay tonight because if you watch game one of the
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: World Series with me, you know exactly where I'm sitting
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: right now. Three to two, Brewers win, and I keep
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: replaying that final strikeout in my head. Johnny DeLuca swinging
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: at a pitch from Trevor McGill that he just couldn't
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: catch up to, and the game is over. The tying
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: run was on third base. The winning run was on second,
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: and we couldn't get the job done. That's the sting tonight,
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: and I want to talk about it honestly because there's
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: a lot to unpack. Let me start at the beginning, though,
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: because I think how well Nick Martinez pitched tonight deserves
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: more credit than it's getting. Five innings, two runs, five strikeouts.
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: The guy was 15-6 this year with a 3-10 ERA,
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: and he showed up to American Family Field in front
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: of 43,000 screaming fans and gave us a real shot.
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: He just didn't have enough margin, and in the World
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: Series against a lineup this deep, two runs isn't enough.
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: Because here's the thing about Milwaukee. They scored in the
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: first inning on two plays that were basically our worst-case scenario.
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: Jackson Shurio gets a base hit, and then Christian Yelich
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: rips a triple into center field. Johnny DeLuca was diving
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: for that ball, and it just eluded him. You can't
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: blame him. Yelich is the captain for a reason. Then
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: William Contreras slaps one pass third to score Yelich, and
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: just like that, it's 2-0 before we've even had a
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: proper at-bat. Roof closed, crowd electric, and we're down too early.
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: But here's where I'm proud of this team. We didn't fold.
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: Jonathan Aranda walked to open the fourth, and that's now
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: four times he's reached base in this game. Four times.
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: Guy is finding every way possible to get on base.
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: Junior Caminero followed with a double, and I want to
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: talk about this play for a second because it was
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: genuinely special. Mizurowski threw him a 101 five-mile-per-hour fastball, and
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: Caminero absolutely scorched it off the bat at 112 seven-miles-per-hour.
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: That's the kind of exit velocity that makes you believe
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: he can be a franchise cornerstone for a decade. The
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: ball caromed off Garrett Mitchell's glove, and it was ruled
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: a double. Caminero used his bat speed to catch up
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: to one of the hardest throwers in baseball, and that
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: tells you something about what this kid can do on
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: the biggest stage. Liam Hicks grounded out to drive in Aranda,
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: and suddenly, it's 2-1. We're alive. And for a stretch
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: in the middle innings, I genuinely felt like we had momentum.
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: Martinez settled in, painting corners, striking guys out. He was
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: keeping us in a ballgame that had every right to
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: get out of hand early. But then there's the baser running.
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: And I'm not going to pretend this didn't hurt, but
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: we have to be honest with ourselves. Fifth inning, two outs,
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: tying run on second base, Yandy Diaz at the plate,
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: and Victor Mesa Jr. decides to steal third. He gets caught.
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: That's a decision that took the wind out of our
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: sails at the exact moment we were right there, Within
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: one run, with one of our best hitters coming up,
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: I get the aggression, I get trying to create chaos.
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: But two outs with Diaz at the plate, that's not
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: the moment to gamble, and it cost us. The seventh
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: is where the game started to slip away. Steven Matz
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: had been doing his job, but he walked Contreras and
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: Terang with two outs in the sixth. Then in the seventh,
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: Kevin Kelly came in and Churrio greeted him with a
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: first pitch RBI single down the right field line. Cooper
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: Pratt scores, it's 3-1. And I'll tell you what, that
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: first pitch to Churrio was a mistake. You're bringing in
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: Kelly to protect the lead and the very first pitch
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: you throw him is one he can drive. That's a
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: coaching decision we'll be dissecting for weeks. But here's the thing,
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: we came back and this is where my heart broke tonight.
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: Ninth inning, two outs. Yandy Diaz grounds out. Then Jonathan
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: Aranda singles. Chandler Simpson singles. Junior Caminero walks. Bases loaded,
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: two outs, and then Liam Hicks hits a ball that
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: looks like a double play to end it. Terrain feels it,
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: throws to Pratt at second, and the umpire calls the
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: runner out. The Brewers dugout starts celebrating. They're running onto
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: the field. And then the replay review comes in and
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: Cooper Pratt's foot was off second base. The call is overturned.
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: A run scores. It's 3-2. We have the tying run
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: at third and the winning run at second. Two outs.
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: And then Trevor Meggle strikes out Johnny DeLuca to end it.
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: The Brewers were celebrating, thinking it was over. And then
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: we had new life. And then McGill slammed the door shut.
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: Fireworks went off before they should have. And he struck
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: DeLuca out in the smoke. That's not something we can control.
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: That's a pitcher who came in and did his job
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: under maximum pressure. Cole Solcer had a great eighth, inducing
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: a fielder's choice to get us to the ninth. Caminero
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: made a stellar defensive play, catching Mitchell's bunt attempt on
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: the fly to hold runners at first and second. These
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: guys are fighting. This team is fighting. And here's what
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: I need you to remember heading into Game 2. We
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: lost Game 1. The Brewers lead the series 1-0. But
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: we scored two runs on the road against a bullpen
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: that had a 133 ERA in the postseason. We had
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: the tying run at third in the ninth. We didn't
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: blow this game. We got beat, and that's different. The
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: last time the Rays were in the World Series was 1982.
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: We lost it in seven games. This team is going
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: to have to win at least four more, and game
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: one is over. The sky didn't fall. We're down one.
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: We're in Milwaukee, and game two is tomorrow night. I
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: still believe in this group. I believe in Martinez's ability
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: to bounce back. I believe in Caminero's bat speed. I
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: believe in Aranda finding ways to get on base. And
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: when we get back to Tropicana Field, this crowd is
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: going to be absolutely deafening. So tonight hurts. I'm not
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: going to pretend it doesn't, but we've got a series
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: to play, and one game does not define this team.
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: Get some rest, stay with us, and let's come back
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: tomorrow ready to fight again. This is Mike Michelson signing
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: off from a tough night in Milwaukee. We'll see you tomorrow.