Brewers fans flock to the Trop, eager to celebrate the franchise's first World Series title

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.

The Brewers needed one more win to celebrate the first World Series title in franchise history.

“We’re ready to party,” a man wearing a pinstriped, white William Contreras No. 24 jersey said.

With Milwaukee leading the Tampa Bay Rays 3-0, a celebration 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 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.”

Even more Brewers fans were expected 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 Young jersey held a broomstick in the lot, anticipating a sweep. Once the gates opened, there was a loud “Let's go Brewers” chant when players began stretching in left field.

“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.”

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.

Pat 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: Young, 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.”

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Milwaukee Brewers fans cheer during the eighth inning of Game 1 of baseball's World Series, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026, in Milwaukee, between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

A Milwaukee Brewers fan watch batting practice prior to Game 2 of baseball's World Series, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Milwaukee, between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Milwaukee Brewers fans watch batting practice prior to Game 2 of baseball's World Series, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Milwaukee, between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Milwaukee Brewers fans watch batting practice prior to Game 2 of baseball's World Series, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Milwaukee, between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Milwaukee Brewers fans cheer after Game 3 of baseball's World Series, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla., between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — A bomb exploded Tuesday near a bridge that crosses Colombia's border with Venezuela, injuring at least four police officers in the Colombian city of Cucuta, officials said.

Norte de Santander provincial Gov. William Villamizar said on X that police were investigating who was responsible for the attack.

The explosion was set off in front of the local branch of Colombia's tax collection agency near the Francisco de Paula de Santander International bridge. Footage of the aftermath showed a truck and several motorcycles that were damaged by the blast.

The attack comes as Colombia’s conservative government changes the nation’s security strategy and takes a more confrontational approach towards gangs and rebel groups.

After being sworn into office in August, President Abelardo de la Espriella cancelled peace talks with the nation’s remaining rebel groups, alleging that negotiations had yielded few results over the past four years, with armed groups using ceasefires with the government to strengthen their grip over rural areas.

De la Espriella, who goes by the nickname of “the Tiger,” has also re-established joint task forces aimed at protecting oil pipelines, and promised to tackle the cocaine trade by spraying coca fields with herbicides, a practice that was suspended in 2015 over health concerns.

Early on Tuesday morning, de La Espriella supervised an operation against gangs in Medellin, in which the government said it captured 135 people suspected of trafficking drugs and running human trafficking rings. In a video shared by de La Espriella’s office Tuesday, the president scolds some of the suspects captured by police.

“The party is over,” he tells a suspect. “You will see how hard the Tiger bites.”

Critics have accused de la Espriella of using law enforcement operations for propaganda purposes, and have expressed doubts about the capacity of Colombia’s armed forces to disarm rebel groups solely through the use of force -- without eventually returning to negotiations.

In Cucuta, next to the border with Venezuela, authorities are investigating the murder of a former deputy mayor, who was assassinated on Monday night while on his way home. In September, an attack on another police station in the border city killed a civilian and injured eleven people.

According to ACLED, a group that monitors conflicts around the world, state forces and illegal armed groups carried out 34 attacks with bombs or explosives in Colombia during the four-week period that ended on Oct. 16 — a 9% increase from last year's four-week average.

The figure includes drone attacks waged by rebel groups, and attacks with explosives like the one in Cucuta, but also airstrikes launched by the nation's military on rebel camps. Laura Calderón, an ACLED analyst, said that the government has increased its use of airstrikes since August, when de la Espriella took office.

“The government is changing its strategy," Calderón said. “And the armed groups are also changing theirs.”

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Police inspect the site where a bomb exploded near the International Francisco de Paula Santander bridge border with Venezuela, in Cucuta, Colombia, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Mario Caicedo)

Police inspect the site where a bomb exploded near the International Francisco de Paula Santander bridge border with Venezuela, in Cucuta, Colombia, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Mario Caicedo)