ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. \u2014 Different approaches to World Series workout day were on display as the best-of-seven shifted south Sunday.<\/p>\n
This deep into the post-season, with a maximum of five games and one workout day remaining, individual player need drives all as the physical toll of the regular season gets compounded by the pressures of October baseball.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why Rays manager Kevin Cash said his players \u201care good\u201d with a quick in-and-out, having spoken to them about the plan before Game 1 of the series. <\/p>\n
\u201cKnowing that we have an off-day, let’s appreciate the off-day for what it is, come in and get your treatment, do that, and keep it simple,\u201d he explained. \u201cThat’s normally how you would run things during the regular season. It’s pretty unique to get on a flight at 12:30 (p.m.) today flying out of Milwaukee, to come in and work out after that. Talking to our guys, they were comfortable with taking the day off.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Brewers, meanwhile, spent the evening re-acclimating to a ballpark they last visited in May 2025 in preparation for Monday night\u2019s Game 3 (Sportsnet, Sportsnet+, 8 p.m. ET \/ 5 p.m. PT), when starter Robert Gasser<\/a> will try to push them to the brink of a championship against former teammate Freddy Peralta<\/a>, who\u2019s looking to help pull the Rays back into Fall Classic.<\/p>\n As part of a full slate of activity, infielders and outfielders chased balls fired up toward the white canvas roof, coaches at times aiming right at the rings that hang over the field, with loud cheers when one was finally struck.\u00a0<\/p>\n Both elements can be tricky and create chaos during games, so being ready for them is \u201cwhat we’re going to work on,\u201d said Brewers manager Pat Murphy. <\/p>\n \u201cIt’s very much a different place. It seems like a great place, and you have to make adjustments to it,” he said.<\/p>\n Underlining the point, Brice Turang<\/a>\u2019s only experience at the Trop came during that 2025 visit, when the Rays took two of three, although \u201cI don’t really remember much about it,\u201d he said. Lefty reliever Aaron Ashby<\/a>, meanwhile, recalled only seeing \u201ctwo games played here in person in \u201922\u201d and vaguely remembered \u201cone of those weird games,\u201d in which Rowdy Tellez went deep twice, the second one off the C-Ring catwalk.<\/p>\n \u201cOther than it being turf, I don’t know that I have any other strong opinions about it,\u201d Ashby added, \u201cbut excited to see what it feels like.\u201d<\/p>\n Pretty much everything has felt good for the Brewers during what\u2019s been a 9-1 October, extending that now against a Rays team that was rolling until Milwaukee. They fell behind 4-0 in the first inning Saturday night, but just like they did after falling behind 4-0 in the second inning of NLCS Game 4 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, they chipped away and eventually rallied back, a staple of their post-season.<\/p>\n The Brewers have scored first only three times in their 10 games and have trailed in eight of them. Yet to this point, only the San Diego Padres, after blowing a 2-0 lead, managed to beat them, forced to survive two late rallies in a 4-3 win.<\/p>\n \u201cNo one ever loses belief,\u201d said Ashby. \u201cIt’s kind of a crazy thing. We never feel like we’re out of it. Of all the teams I’ve been a part of, this team is the strongest. We may go down, we may go down big early, and (Christian Yelich<\/a>) is the first one to say we’re going to come back, and we’re going to wear these guys down, and we’re going to win. Just plain and simple as that.\u00a0His belief trickles down through everyone and you start grinding out at-bats. This offence is unbelievable. The bullpen’s job is to hold the line and then just start taking care of business.\u201d<\/p>\n The Rays carry similar belief, but they are still left with some heavy lifting after failing to lock down their early Game 2 lead.\u00a0<\/p>\n Though charged with only one error, they were uncharacteristically sloppy in the field during the first two games, not making plays they usually make and paying for it with runs against. At the same time, they\u2019re also a combined 3-for-20 with runners in scoring position, a bad combination against a team as relentless as the Brewers.\u00a0<\/p>\n