Ratings for small-market Brewers-Rays World Series down only 6% through 2 games

Sport

Ratings for small-market Brewers-Rays World Series down only 6% through 2 games

2026-10-28 07:40 Last Updated At：07:50

For those fearing record-low ratings for the World Series, the matchup between the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays is exceeding expectations.

The audiences for the first two games on Fox Sports were down only 6% compared to Games 1 and 2 from last year's Fall Classic between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays.

“I think they’ve probably surpassed everybody’s expectations. I think very few people, including me, would’ve guessed that we’d be down 6% through two games. We’re really satisfied,” said Mike Mulvihill, Fox Sports president for insight and analytics

Milwaukee's 3-2 win in Game 1 last Friday averaged 12.26 million viewers on Fox, Fox Deportes, Fox One streaming, the Fox Sports app and Univision. The Brewers' 5-4 victory in Game 2, which did not include Univision coverage, averaged 10.85 million.

Both games were the most-watched broadcast of the night.

With two small-market teams vying for the championship, there were many predictions the early ratings could rival the 2023 World Series between the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks, which was the least-watched on record with a 9.11 million average. Game 2 of that series set the record low at 8.15 million.

The difference this year, though, is that Milwaukee has a steady base of fans in the Midwest and has been a consistent contender the last couple of seasons. This is also a matchup of the two teams with the best records in baseball this season.

“I do think there’s something helpful about having a traditional team from the Midwest in the series. And the fact that they were able to take down the two-time defending champs (the Dodgers) and do it in really convincing fashion, I think that helps build some interest for the World Series,” Mulvihill said.

The Fox-only average for the first two games this year is 11.05 million.

Fox could be holding its breath for the ratings from Monday's Game 3. Not only was it a 10-1 blowout win for Milwaukee, it faced stiff competition with the Dallas Cowboys playing the Philadelphia Eagles on “Monday Night Football.”

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Rays stun Brewers with 2-run rally in 12th inning and force World Series Game 5 with 4-3 win

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Jonny DeLuca and pinch-hitter Ben Williamson singled home runs in a stunning 12th-inning rally, and the Tampa Bay Rays staved off World Series elimination with a 4-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night that forced Game 5.

Cooper Pratt hit a tiebreaking home run off Ian Seymour in the top of the 12th for his fourth hit of the game as Milwaukee neared a sweep and its first World Series title.

But the Rays, also seeking their first championship, rallied in the bottom half after a throwing error by third baseman Joey Ortiz on Junior Caminero's leadoff grounder against reliever Antonio Senzatela.

Liam Hicks singled off rookie left-hander Shane Drohan, who relieved in his first appearance since Oct. 15, and DeLuca's single to center drove in pinch-runner Cedric Mullins to tie the score at 3.

Chandler Simpson's single loaded the bases and Milwaukee employed a five-man infield with the infield in.

Williamson, who had been 1 for 15 in the postseason, batted for Victor Mesa Jr. and hit a chopper over first baseman Jake Bauers into right field.

“That was totally what I told him to do,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said, drawing laughs.

“Pretty big swing. I’ve got to go back and recall everything that took place.”

Tampa Bay became the fourth team in World Series history to avoid elimination with an extra-inning comeback, according to OptaSTATS. The first three all went on to win the championship (1912 Red Sox, 1986 Mets, 2011 Cardinals).

“We've got a lot of fight in us. We’re never going to shy away," Simpson said. “We were going to keep fighting until the end — the last inning, the last out, the last play, the last pitch. We were going to keep fighting. That’s what we did tonight.”

Game 5 in the best-of-seven matchup is Wednesday night at Tropicana Field, with NL Cy Young Award favorite Jacob Misiorowski scheduled to start for the Brewers. Cash said he hadn't decided on a starter yet.

Tampa Bay became just the fifth of 26 teams that fell behind 3-0 in the World Series to win Game 4. The previous four lost Game 5.

Of 43 teams to trail 3-0 in any best-of-seven postseason matchup, the only one that rebounded to win was the Boston Red Sox against the New York Yankees in the 2004 American League Championship Series.

“It just shows the resiliency of this group,” Williamson said. “We continue to fight, and that’s been the motto this series and this full season, is just fight.”

Caminero was replaced by Mullins at third base and hobbled off the field with an ailing left foot. But the All-Star slugger said he’ll definitely play Wednesday night.

“He’ll play tomorrow on one leg. I’ll make sure of it,” Cash said.

Tampa Bay ended an eight-game winning streak by the Brewers, who were bidding to become only the second team to sweep a League Championship Series and the World Series.

“If you want to win a championship, you’ve got to survive some hard things," Milwaukee captain Christian Yelich said. "Like I said earlier, it’s supposed to be hard. It’s supposed to test you. We understand that.”

David Hamilton also homered for the Brewers. Jackson Chourio had a single and double, improving to 10 for 20 in the Series.

Pratt, a 22-year-old rookie whose go-ahead hit sparked the Brewers to a 5-4 win in Game 2, drove a slider into the left-field seats against Seymour. Pratt had tied the score at 1 with an RBI double in the second.

Milwaukee players bounded out of the dugout to greet Pratt, who debuted in June and became the first rookie to hit an extra-inning homer in the World Series.

“This kid responds to everything,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said.

Seymour also allowed Frelick’s tying homer in Game 2.

Milwaukee fans in the crowd of 40,514, many waving yellow towels and some wearing cheeseheads, brought a Badger State feel to Tropicana Field.

Tampa Bay returned to its white home jerseys, a day after playing in Devil Rays throwbacks.

Simpson hit an RBI double off starter Dustin May in the second, but Milwaukee tied the score in the fourth against Griffin Jax when Frelick hit a two-out single and came around on Pratt's double.

Caminero singled leading off the bottom half to chase May and advanced on a groundout. DeLuca hit a hard grounder to Hamilton and Caminero twisted toward the grass to avoid the third baseman’s tag, then came home when Hamilton bounced his throw past Bauers for an error.

Hamilton, Milwaukee’s No. 9 hitter, drove an 0-2 fastball at the letters from Jax into the right-field seats for his second home run of the postseason — half his regular-season total and just his second since June 6.

See AP’s full MLB coverage here