Frelick's 408-Foot Blast Ignites Milwaukee's Four-Run Comeback
Tampa Bay blitzed Milwaukee for four runs in the first inning and held that lead for five innings — then watched it evaporate completely. Milwaukee scored five unanswered to win 5-4, capped by a go-ahead single in the seventh.
The first inning looked like a disaster in the making for Milwaukee. Chandler Simpson singled to center to score Díaz, Junior Caminero followed with a single to left to score Simpson, and then Liam Hicks put the exclamation point on it — a 411-foot homer to right center that scored Caminero and made it 4-0 Tampa Bay before Milwaukee had even settled in. Logan Henderson lasted just 3.0 innings, allowing all four of those runs on 3 hits, 1 walk, and 4 strikeouts. The Rays had jumped all over him, and it appeared the game was already decided.
Milwaukee chipped away before Henderson even left. William Contreras singled to center to score Chourio, and then a Mitchell single to right brought in Bauers to make it 4-2 — still in the first inning. The comeback continued in the fourth when Pratt scored on a fielding error by Tampa Bay first baseman Aranda, cutting the deficit to one. Then came the moment that flipped everything: in the sixth, Sal Frelick launched a 408-foot home run to center to tie the game at four. That swing moved Milwaukee's win probability from 44% to 66% — a 23-point lurch that looks, in hindsight, like the exact moment the Rays lost control of this game. Drew Rasmussen had already exited after 3.2 innings, having allowed 6 hits and 3 earned runs, and Tampa Bay's bullpen couldn't hold the line.
The story of the night was Milwaukee's refusal to fold. Aaron Ashby was sharp in relief — 1.2 innings, 1 hit, 0 earned runs, 3 strikeouts — and Abner Uribe followed with 1.1 scoreless innings of his own, allowing no hits. That pitching bridge gave Milwaukee the runway it needed. Cooper Pratt delivered the winner in the seventh, singling to right to score Turang and push Milwaukee ahead 5-4 for good. Frelick finished 2-for-4 with the homer and an RBI. Contreras went 2-for-5 with an RBI. For Tampa Bay, Hicks was the lone bright spot — 1-for-2 with a home run and 2 RBI — but the Rays' offense went completely silent after that first-inning explosion, and that silence is what ultimately cost them.