One Simple Play Might Define This World Series

Christian Yelich's fifth-inning sprint to second base looked routine, but it might turn out to be the hinge moment in this World Series. "The whole game was changed when Yeli was safe at second," said Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy after the game, reports Yahoo Sports. "That's just a hustle play." With Milwaukee up 2-0 in Game 3 and two outs, Yelich beat a force attempt at second—a call overturned on replay—instead of making the third out. (See the play.) That loaded the bases and opened the door to an eight-run, two-out eruption, the biggest such inning in Series history, as the Brewers pounded the Tampa Bay Rays 10-1 on Monday. They now have a 3-0 Series lead, and no team has ever come back from that.

Milwaukee strung together seven straight two-out hits without a homer, underscoring a contact-and-baserunning formula that has them one win from their first title in 57 seasons and an 11-1 postseason mark. In the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Dave Kallman describes it as "the Brewers' way." At the Athletic, Ken Rosenthal writes that Yelich's hustle—after he wisely read the infield and took a bigger lead than usual—was the only thing teammates wanted to talk about. "It was so Brewers, talking about the pebble that triggered the avalanche. So Brewers, laying waste to the notion that a team can't win in the postseason without hitting home runs," writes Rosenthal.