Pratt Rise: Unlikely Hero Gives Brewers 2-0 Series Lead

Michael McLoone-Imagn Images Most of the time, life isn’t a storybook. The problem in Act One isn’t tied up with a bow in Act Three. Yesterday’s villain doesn’t always become today’s hero; in fact, they frequently stay today’s villain. But the baseball gods must have been hankering for a redemption arc Saturday night. Cooper Pratt was the scapegoat for an early Tampa Bay rally in Game 2, and then the hero for a late Milwaukee response, as the Brewers persevered for a 5-4 victory that staked them to a 2-0 lead in the World Series. Before the raucous Milwaukee fans had even settled into their seats, Pratt got an easy chance to open the game, a weak grounder off the bat of the lead-footed Yandy Díaz. But Pratt played himself into trouble by waiting too long to commit. He got to the ball late, rushed his throw, and chucked it into the dugout on a hop. Just like that, the pressure was on, and the Brewers were down – down by a shocking four runs, in fact. After consecutive run-scoring singles, Liam Hicks tattooed a Logan Henderson cutter right down Wisconsin Ave for a two-run bomb: FanGraphs Playoff Coverage Is for MembersYou must be a Member in order to read our postseason coverage. You can read our announcement here, but it's not the only reason you should consider becoming a Member. Membership includes:✓Ad-free browsing✓Unlimited FanGraphs & RotoGraphs articles✓Historical & platoon projections✓Leaderboard & player-page stat heatmaps✓One-click data exports✓Customizable player-page dashboards✓Dark & Classic site modes✓Weekly Members-only mailbag✓FanGraphs Walk-Off, your year in review✓Optional homepage photo removal✓Gift articles to non-Members✓Full postseason coverage Ben is a writer at FanGraphs. He can be found on Bluesky @benclemens.