Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy praised Christian Yelich’s baserunning after Monday’s 10-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in World Series Game 3.
The Brewers captain and designated hitter kept the fifth inning alive at Tropicana Field, setting the stage for Milwaukee to turn a two-run lead into a commanding advantage over Tampa Bay.
The Brewers scored eight runs in that inning, all with two outs, and moved ahead 3-0 in the series. They now sit one victory from the franchise’s first World Series championship.
The umpire initially called Yelich out at second base, seemingly ending the inning. Milwaukee challenged the ruling, and replay overturned the call, loading the bases and keeping the rally alive.
MLB Network’s Jon Morosi relayed Murphy’s assessment Monday on X, formerly Twitter, explaining the base-running details behind the pivotal play.
“The whole game was changed when Yeli was safe at second,” Murphy said. “That's just a hustle play.”
Morosi reported that Tampa Bay’s first baseman was not holding Yelich closely with two outs and right-handed hitter William Contreras batting.
That positioning allowed Yelich a larger lead. Murphy credited the extra step and a strong secondary lead with helping him reach second safely.
Jackson Chourio had singled and stolen second before Yelich walked, putting two runners aboard.
Contreras then grounded to third baseman Junior Caminero, who threw to second baseman Ben Williamson for the attempted force out.
Article Continues BelowReplay showed Yelich reaching the bag before Williamson caught the throw, reversing the call and keeping all three runners on base.
The Rays removed starter Freddy Peralta and brought in Cam Booser. Milwaukee followed with a rally that included seven consecutive hits, stretching its lead to 10-0.
The sequence turned a potentially scoreless inning into the Brewers’ decisive eight-run rally.
Tampa Bay scored once in the ninth, but Milwaukee completed the victory and heads into Game 4 with a chance to clinch.

