ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — A large group of Brewers fans gathered in a parking lot outside Tropicana Field more than four hours before the first pitch of Game 4 of the World Series, sipping on Wisconsin beers and preparing for a potentially historic night.
They have to wait at least one more day.
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With the Brewers needing one more win to celebrate the first World Series title in franchise history, the bullpen couldn't protect a 3-2 lead in the 12th inning and the Tampa Bay Rays rallied for a 4-3 victory Tuesday night to avoid a sweep.
“We’re ready to party,” a man wearing a pinstriped, white William Contreras No. 24 jersey said before the game.
A celebration still seems inevitable.
Of the 43 previous major league teams to fall behind 3-0 in any best-of-seven postseason series, only the 2004 Boston Red Sox rallied to win four straight games when they beat the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series.
Brewers fans have been waiting for this moment since 1970 — the franchise began as the Seattle Pilots in 1969 and moved to Milwaukee a year later. Thousands of fans made the trip from Wisconsin to Florida and sat among the cowbell-ringing Rays crowd on Monday night. Most were sitting behind the visitors’ dugout and along the third-base line, and they had plenty to cheer about in a 10-1 victory.
“The atmosphere here with the amount of Brewers fans, you can feel it, and it started in batting practice yesterday,” Milwaukee’s Garrett Mitchell said Tuesday. “Just like when we were stretching, you could hear it. It was lots of ‘Let’s go Brewers’ chants. To have that on the road, pretty special. Pretty special.”
More Brewers fans were in the ballpark for Game 4 because their team is on the verge of a championship, and the Rays need to defy historical trends just to shift the series back to Milwaukee.
There have been 25 teams that took a 3-0 lead in the World Series. Of those, 21 finished the sweep in Game 4, and the remaining four won the series in Game 5.
The cheapest ticket available for Game 4 was $900, according to ticket marketplace TickPick. A total of 41.3% of all purchases for Game 4 have come from Wisconsin, compared to 30.5% from Florida and 3.4% from Illinois, according to TickPick.
A fan wearing a powder blue, No. 19 Robin Yount jersey held a broomstick in the parking lot, anticipating a sweep. Once the gates opened, there was a loud “Let's go Brewers” chant when players began stretching in left field.
As the stadium began to fill about an hour before the first pitch, it appeared there were more Brewers fans than Rays fans in the stands. They filled the area behind Milwaukee's dugout and screamed when the players walked back to the clubhouse.
“It was awesome,” Brewers captain Christian Yelich said after Game 3. “They were really loud from batting practice on throughout the game. I said it a bunch, but they brought it this year in Milwaukee and on the road. We understand how much this team and our performance affects people’s happiness in Milwaukee and how many memories have been made over the years watching Brewer baseball, watching us play, whether that’s among family, the friends, parents, grandparents, whatever it may be. So, I know this team doesn’t take that lightly and I understand that our team means a lot to people and it’s a big reason why we press so hard about that.”
And for those who didn't make the road trip, American Family Field in Milwaukee sold out a watch party for 31,000 fans.
“Those are great people that care about the Brewers a great deal, and we need their continued support because we’re playing a great ball club that has had some adversity in the series and they bounced back really nice tonight,” manager Pat Murphy said.
Milwaukee’s only previous trip to the World Series in 1982 ended in heartbreak when the Brewers blew a 3-1 lead in the sixth inning of Game 7 and lost 6-3 to the St. Louis Cardinals.
Murphy’s team is trying to finish what Harvey Kuenn’s star-studded crew couldn’t accomplish. Harvey’s Wallbangers had five Hall of Famers: Yount, Paul Molitor, Ted Simmons, Don Sutton and Rollie Fingers. But Fingers missed the postseason with a forearm injury. They also had Hall of Famer Bob Uecker in the broadcast booth.
“I think it’s just about the Brewers, it’s about the city of Milwaukee, it’s about the state of Wisconsin all coming together,” Murphy said. “We all play a role. It’s wonderful to all be together. Hopefully we continue to play well enough to win.”
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