Welcome to Staten News — where the Brewers can't stop winning, the Knicks can't start, and the Jets just found a new floor.
Tampa Bay put four runs on the board before Milwaukee had taken a single swing in Game 2. Rays starter Drew Rasmussen had a cushion most aces would kill for. He didn't make it out of the fourth.
The Brewers won 5-4 and lead the World Series 2-0.
⚾ World Series: Milwaukee Took the Punch
Game 1 went to the Brewers 3-2 on Friday. William Contreras ran that game from behind the plate, throwing out two runners trying to steal, reaching base three times and driving in a run. Aaron Ashby got the last five outs.
Game 2 on Saturday looked like Tampa Bay's night for exactly one inning. An error-fueled rally against Brewers rookie Logan Henderson, capped by Hicks's two-run homer, made it 4-0 in the top of the first. Milwaukee answered with two in the bottom half and then just kept leaning on the door.
Brewers scored one each in the 4th, 6th and 7th
Sal Frelick tied it 4-4 with a leadoff homer in the 6th
Cooper Pratt drove in the go-ahead run with a single in the 7th
Rasmussen: 3.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
Abner Uribe got the win with 1.1 hitless innings. Ashby got five more outs for the save, his third of the postseason
Milwaukee outhit Tampa Bay 11-7. The Rays' bullpen got stretched thin, with Kevin Kelly pitching for the second straight day. It was the first World Series game in Milwaukee in 44 years, and 43,245 people watched the Brewers make a four-run hole look like a minor inconvenience.
That's not luck. That's a bullpen built to win games the starter doesn't.
📺 What Happens Next in St. Petersburg
The series moves to Tampa Bay tonight. Game 3 is at 8 p.m. ET on FOX, and Freddy Peralta is expected to start for the Rays against his former team.
Game 3: Monday, Oct. 26, 8 p.m. ET, Brewers at Rays
Game 4: Tuesday, Oct. 27, 8 p.m. ET, Brewers at Rays
Game 5 (if needed): Wednesday, Oct. 28, 8 p.m. ET, Brewers at Rays
Games 6 and 7 (if needed): Friday, Oct. 30 and Saturday, Oct. 31 in Milwaukee
Because Ashby has thrown in both games, tonight tells us how much Milwaukee's bullpen has left. The Rays need at least two of the three games at home just to get this back to Milwaukee. Down 2-0 at home is survivable. Down 3-0 is a eulogy.
🏀 Knicks: Champions, 0-3
The defending champs are winless. Orlando beat the Knicks 111-102 on Sunday, and New York became the first defending champion to start 0-3 since the 2011-12 Dallas Mavericks.
This one hurt more than the first two. The Knicks led 86-76 with 9:20 left. Franz Wagner, who started the night 1-of-10, scored 21 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter and finished with 13 rebounds and nine assists. His 11-0 burst gave Orlando its first lead, 87-86, and the Magic closed on a 35-16 run.
Jalen Brunson: 28 points
Karl-Anthony Towns: 22 points, 14 rebounds
OG Anunoby: 22 points, 10 in the fourth
Knicks turnovers: 14, with 8 in the fourth quarter
Eight fourth-quarter turnovers. Read that again.
The week before had the same shape. Philadelphia won the opener 106-100 at the Garden behind 28 from Tyrese Maxey. Then Boston took it 107-103 on Thursday when Jayson Tatum scored 36 and hit three straight clutch buckets. Three games, three close losses. That's a closing problem, not a talent problem, and closing problems are fixable. They just have to get fixed soon.
The Knicks host Detroit on Tuesday.
🏈 Giants: McCarthy's First Start Goes to Overtime
J.J. McCarthy made his first start for the Giants on Sunday and walked out of Houston with a 27-21 overtime win. He went 20-of-28 for 252 yards with a 99.1 passer rating, the youngest Giant since 1954 to throw for 250-plus yards at a 70% completion rate.
Cam Skattebo did the heavy lifting. He set a career high with 124 rushing yards and scored his second touchdown of the season. On the Giants' second snap of overtime, he ripped off a career-long 42-yard run. Devin Singletary finished it on the next big play with a 30-yard touchdown.
The defense held C.J. Stroud to 153 passing yards, and Houston went 3-for-12 on third down. The Giants are 4-2-1 and head into their bye. Next up after that: at Philadelphia, then Washington at home on Thursday Night Football.
🟢 Jets: A New Low
Miami came into MetLife on Sunday without a win. It left with a 28-25 victory, its first under new head coach Jeff Hafley.
Malik Willis threw two touchdowns to Caleb Douglas, including a 63-yard score that made it 28-17 with 4:44 left, and ran another one in himself. Ollie Gordon II added 103 rushing yards. Miami led 21-7 at the half.
Geno Smith tried to drag the Jets back. He threw three touchdowns, two to Mason Taylor and one to Omar Cooper Jr., who caught five balls for 115 yards. The last Taylor score plus a two-point conversion made it 28-25 with 3:24 left. Miami ran out the rest.
The Jets are 2-5. Aaron Glenn is 0-8 against AFC East teams since taking over in 2025. "Our fans deserve better than that, and that starts with me," Glenn said afterward. The Raiders are next on Sunday.
📅 The Week Ahead
Monday: World Series Game 3, Brewers at Rays, 8 p.m. ET, FOX
Tuesday: World Series Game 4, 8 p.m. ET. Knicks host the Pistons
Wednesday: World Series Game 5, if needed
Friday and Saturday: World Series Games 6 and 7 in Milwaukee, if needed
Sunday, Nov. 1: Jets vs. Raiders. Giants on bye
This is the week the Brewers either finish a sweep that nobody saw coming or the Rays remind everyone why they won the pennant. Meanwhile, the Knicks need Tuesday more than any team in New York needs anything.
Sources: ESPN World Series Game 2 box score, MLB.com Game 2 takeaways, Giants.com Week 7 game balls, AP Magic-Knicks recap
— The Bandicoots ⚾🏀🏈