Cooper Pratt’s night did not start the way he wanted, but it ended with his manager holding him up as an example for the entire clubhouse. The Milwaukee Brewers rookie shortstop delivered the go-ahead hit in a 5-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 2 of the World Series on Saturday night at American Family Field, giving Milwaukee a 2-0 series lead.
Afterward, manager Pat Murphy praised Pratt for the way he bounced back.
“The game has a way of doing that to you, you know what I mean?” Murphy said. “And that speaks to Cooper, what type of individual he is. Being able to hang in there when things didn’t go great for him early.”
Pat Murphy on Cooper Pratt #Brewers pic.twitter.com/1shSjvijMQ
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The trouble started on the first play of the game. Pratt’s throwing error on Yandy Diaz’s leadoff grounder opened the door for a four-run first inning, capped by a two-run homer from Liam Hicks.
Pratt did not let it linger. He drew a walk in the fourth and later scored on an error by Jonathan Aranda to pull Milwaukee within one. After Sal Frelick tied the game with a solo homer in the sixth, Pratt came up in the seventh with Brice Turang in scoring position and lined a single to right off Kevin Kelly to give the Brewers the lead for good.
Murphy noted that the at-bat came against a tough matchup, one the Brewers had prepared for.
“That guy’s super tough on right-handers, and for him to put that ball in play, we spent a lot of time on that when we were talking about how to face him,” Murphy said. “He’s outstanding. And again, Cooper just put together a great at-bat.”
Article Continues BelowMurphy then called Pratt’s response a lesson for everyone around him. “A great teacher for every young person in the room,” he said. “That game doesn’t start a certain way, doesn’t mean it has to end that way.”
It was a fitting message for a resilient team. Milwaukee became the fifth team to overcome four-run deficits twice in a single postseason, having also rallied from 4-0 down to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 4 of the NLCS.
The Brewers will look to move within one win of a title in Game 3 on Monday at Tropicana Field.

