Rays, Down 2-0 to Brewers, Change Lineup for World Series Game 3 at Tropicana Field

The Tampa Bay Rays host the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 3 of the World Series at 8 p.m. ET on Monday, October 26, at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, trailing the series 2-0. The Rays lost Game 2 on Saturday 5-4 after blowing a 4-0 first-inning lead, and both losses were by one run, with the tying run on third each time. Tampa Bay changed its lineup for Game 3, benching Jonathan Aranda and Liam Hicks, and starts former Brewers right-hander Freddy Peralta, a pending free agent. The Rays are 3-for-20 (.150) with runners in scoring position in the series after leading the majors with a .283 average in the regular season. DraftKings lists the Rays as -120 favorites for the game, with Milwaukee -750 to win the series. Of 57 teams to take a 2-0 World Series lead, 46 won it. Both clubs went 55-26 at home this year, tied for the best record in MLB.

The right-leaning New York Post urges the Rays to rediscover the defense, baserunning and mistake-free play behind their pennant, credits manager Kevin Cash, and questions using Steven Matz (5.49 ERA) twice and closer Bryan Baker never. Fox News runs a Betr promo-code piece that doubles as a preview: the Brewers' bullpen, including Aaron Ashby, against a Rays offense that cannot get key hits, with the Brewers described as having the upper hand. The left-leaning NPR looks backward instead, explaining the Rays' run through shrewd trades, with more than half the roster acquired that way, and does not dwell on the 2-0 deficit. All sides treat Game 3 as the Rays' home chance, but the right focuses on in-game decisions and urgency, the left on roster-building. Alternative outlets CBS Sports and Yahoo Sports add betting odds, Peralta's story and the lineup changes.