The Buzz — Sunday, October 25

Sal Frelick

The take His tying homer sparked the Brewers' Game 2 comeback

A man who hit four home runs all year does not get to be the one who ties a World Series game — except that he did, and the at-bat is the whole story. Frelick had not homered since July 11. His .614 OPS was the line of a player whose job is defense and contact, not damage. Then he fought Ian Seymour for nine pitches, stayed alive, and drove a 92.9 mph fastball 408 feet to straightaway center at 104.4 mph off the bat.

What that swing did was erase the last of a 4-0 deficit and knot the game 4-4 in the sixth. It was his first left-on-left home run since Opening Day — only the fourth of his career against a lefty. Cooper Pratt's seventh-inning single put Milwaukee ahead for good, but the swing that unsealed the game was Frelick's, and it came from a bat that had no business producing it.

Pat Murphy had said before the game that Frelick has the 'it factor' — he named Joe Montana and Larry Bird. The 5-4 final, Milwaukee's seventh comeback win of the postseason, puts the Brewers two wins from their first title. The unlikely source was the point.

Sal Frelick cards on eBay →(paid link)

Liam Hicks

The take Hicks HR built Rays early WS lead before collapse

The 411-foot two-run shot off Logan Henderson capped a four-run first inning and gave the Rays everything they wanted — a 4-0 lead before Milwaukee came to bat, and the first home run of the series. Hicks did his job.

The problem is that the job did not last. Milwaukee scored two in the bottom of the first, one in the fourth, one in the sixth, and one in the seventh, and the 4-0 lead became a 5-4 loss that put Tampa Bay in an 0-2 hole. A blast that traveled 411 feet should buy more than six innings of breathing room, but the Rays could not hold what Hicks built, and now the series goes to Tropicana Field Monday with Tampa Bay needing to win four of five.

Liam Hicks cards on eBay →(paid link)