Rays found the most embarrassing way possible to send Brewers to the brink of World Series clinch

For those who wish to get technical, this could have gone worse. The Tampa Bay Rays were being shut out and losing a one-hitter through eight innings. Because they had a ninth-inning rally that would have been more helpful in Game 2, they avoided a worse scenario. 

However, the bar is pretty low. For the Rays, it’s still as ugly a loss as it gets. One inning featured a complete meltdown, and there was no coming back from that. 

If this were the regular season, it would be easy to shake off. In that case, you can just say that it happens. Every single team, regardless of how good or bad they are, will get blown out over 162 games. 

But this is the World Series. This type of loss rarely happens. 

It’s not entirely unprecedented, but it’s so rare that it’s still in the realm of a historic loss. 

The Rays had their chances in the first two games. Even if they had salvaged one of them, there would have been some way to put a positive spin on it. 

But now they’re down 3-0. There is no coming back from this unless they make history. Only one team has ever come back from this point. The odds are technically greater than zero, but they’re down to the decimal point. 

What's crazy is that the Rays had a one-hitter themselves to set the tone for their run to the World Series. Drew Rasmussen had a no-hit bit for 7 2/3 innings. It was nearly an entire role reversal.

What is the largest blowout in World Series history?

Good news for the Rays is that they’re still far down the list of teams that have been blown out in a World Series game. They lost by nine, and 14 teams can say they have lost a World Series game by 11 runs. 

The record, according to USA Today, is 14. In Game 2 of the 1936 World Series, the Yankees smacked the Giants 18-4. Other famous blowouts include the Diamondbacks beating the Yankees 15-2 in Game 6 of the 2001 World Series, and the Red Sox being ruthless and beating the Rockies 13-1 in Game 1 of the 2007 World Series. 

If this were earlier in the series, there would be at least some hope to point to. In Game 1 of the 1996 World Series, the Braves beat the Yankees 12-1, then went up 2-0 in the series the night after. The Yankees went on to win that World Series. 

The Rays do not have precedent, outside of the 2004 ALCS, to cling to. The Yankees beat the Red Sox 19-8 in Game 3. Ok, so maybe a blowout right before history can happen again? Probably not, but it’s fun to imagine. 

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