The Opener: Gasser, Peralta, Rays’ Lineup

The Rays are facing a 2-0 deficit, but they’re back in Tropicana Field tonight. No team had more home wins than Tampa Bay in the regular season (55). The Brewers have been road warriors, though. Only the Dodgers (49) had more road wins than Milwaukee’s 48 this year. 1. Gasser gets Game 3 The Brewers will hand the ball to lefty Robert Gasser for tonight’s matchup. He’s been one of the unsung heroes for the club this postseason, allowing a run over nine innings in his two playoff appearances. Gasser silenced the Dodgers over five scoreless innings in Game 3 of the NLCS. He’s permitted one earned run or fewer in seven of his last eight appearances. The bullpen should be relatively fresh behind Gasser after the off-day on Sunday. Abner Uribe and Aaron Ashby were the only Brewers to work in each of the first two games of the series. 2. Peralta faces former squad The Rays will turn to Freddy Peralta to try to get back into the series. He’s allowed just two earned runs over 16 1/3 innings this postseason. The longtime Brewer struggled after getting traded to the Mets, but turned his season around in Tampa Bay. Peralta has been especially dominant at Tropicana Field. He posted a 1.69 ERA and held opponents to a .116 batting average in four home starts in the regular season. Peralta has a 1.13 ERA in three playoff starts at the Trop. 3. Rays face lineup decisions Milwaukee started two right-handers to begin the series. Now, they’ll opt for a southpaw. The platoon-happy Rays may go with a different look with Gasser on the mound. Ryan Vilade and Ben Williamson are candidates to start over Victor Mesa Jr. and Richie Palacios, respectively. Manager Kevin Cash has also opted for Nick Fortes over Liam Hicks behind the plate versus lefties at times. The Rays were held scoreless for eight innings after hanging a four-spot in the first inning of Game 2. Pressing the right buttons to get the lineup going will be crucial tonight. Photo courtesy of Kirby Lee, Imagn Images View Comments (3)