Sal Frelick and the Brewers won't take the hint. Now they're 2 wins from history New York Times (Online) Andy McCullough MILWAUKEE — To love Sal Frelick, as Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy assuredly does, is to diss him. Murphy once told Frelick to stop wasting his pregame hours on crossword puzzles and apply to graduate school. When Frelick won a Gold Glove for his play in right field, Murphy shot him a text: “Amazing what a few unnecessary dives and purposely banging into a wall can do for a player.” Yet when Frelick is not in the room, as he was not when Murphy met the media a few hours before a 5-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 2 of the World Series, the manager strikes a different tune. Murphy compared Frelick, the No. 8 hitter on a team now two victories away from its first championship, to Larry Bird and Joe Montana. “He's just the ultimate competitor,” Murphy said, his affection causing him to mix sporting metaphors. He saw Frelick as the quarterback who could lead his team to victory, the hockey player who shores up the defense on a penalty kill. “He has that belief system that like I'm going to get this done, and you're not going to deny me,” Murphy said. On Saturday night, before a sellout crowd at American Family Field, Frelick declined any sort of denial in the sixth inning, when he hit his first home run in three months. His power had gone out since he suffered a torn labrum earlier in the summer, but Frelick eschewed surgery and returned to the lineup. His solo shot tied the score and offered a personification of the spirit of the 2026 Milwaukee Brewers: They will not be denied. And so, no, the Brewers were not discouraged when the Rays opened the second night of the World Series with a four-run flurry. They were not discouraged at the prospect of facing Tampa Bay's finest starter, Drew Rasmussen. They were not discouraged when their own starter, Logan Henderson, completed only three innings. These fellows cannot take the hint. Perhaps the rest of the sport should — these Brewers are a 26-man controlled demolition. After Frelick went deep in the sixth, the Crew kept chopping. A leadoff double by second baseman Brice Turang opened the door for rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt's go-ahead single. For the second evening in a row, the Milwaukee bullpen made the lead stick. Aaron Ashby bulldozed the Rays for the final five outs. On Friday, the Brewers appeared unfazed after the weeklong layoff since they won the National League pennant in Los Angeles. Milwaukee scored two runs in the first inning of Game 1 and thwarted a ninth-inning comeback attempt to pull ahead in the series. A day later, Tampa Bay struck first against Henderson. A throwing error by Pratt allowed Rays leadoff hitter Yandy Díaz to reach second base. He came around on a ground-ball single by Chandler Simpson, a slender but speedy outfielder who promptly stole second base. A nine-pitch duel between Henderson and Rays star Junior Caminero followed. With the count full, Caminero hooked an elevated changeup down the third-base line for a run-scoring single. That extended encounter set the table for the first home run of this World Series. Tampa Bay catcher Liam Hicks clobbered a belt-high cutter for a two-run shot. The first-inning salvo muffled but did not mute the noise inside American Family Field. The task of silencing the lineup fell to Rasmussen. He was unsuccessful. The leadoff duo of Jackson Chourio and Jake Bauers greeted the former Brewer with singles in the bottom of the first. With runners at the corners, Bauers attempted to steal second base. His movement drew Rays second baseman Richie Palacios toward the bag, which opened a hole in the right side of the infield for a bouncing RBI single by Brewers catcher William Contreras. Rasmussen has made the All-Star team the past two seasons. In his first three starts this October, he yielded only three runs in 21 innings. But Milwaukee taxed him for two in the first, unimpressed by a steady stream of cutters. Brewers outfielder Garrett Mitchell finished the first-inning scoring by lacing a two-out hit to cut Tampa Bay's lead in half. Henderson departed after the third inning. Murphy opted for a fresh arm rather than attempting to push Henderson through the bottom third of the Rays' lineup. Henderson's skittish start afforded Tampa Bay another extended look at Milwaukee's bullpen, which needed to cover the final four innings of Game 1 behind Jacob Misiorowski. The bottom of Milwaukee's lineup stirred in the bottom of the fourth and forced Rays manager Kevin Cash to open his own bullpen. After a one-out walk by Pratt and a single by Frelick, third baseman David Hamilton rolled a grounder down the first-base line. The ball slipped under Rays first baseman Aranda's glove and between his legs as Pratt scored. Three batters later, Tampa Bay reliever Cam Booser retired Yelich to leave the bases loaded. Tampa Bay still led. But now the majority of the game would be handled by relievers from each club. The fourth Brewers arm of the evening was DL Hall. He clipped Hicks with a fastball to open the sixth. Three batters later, Hicks barreled away from second base after a two-out single by outfielder Victor Mesa Jr. Chourio scooped the ball in left field and threw to the plate. Hicks does not run well, but third-base coach Bradley Williams sent him, as the team tends to do. Contreras gathered the baseball and tagged Hicks out. A replay challenge upheld the call. In the bottom of the frame, Frelick tied the score with his first home run since July 11. He hung with Rays southpaw Ian Seymour for eight pitches before turning on the ninth, a 92.9 mph fastball. The drive looped over center fielder Jonny DeLuca. When it cleared the fence, Frelick pumped his right arm, torn labrum be damned.