I figured the Rays wouldn't make things easier for the Guardians, considering that the Rays are still the most ferocious team remaining arguably, and last night's Game 2 was exactly what I figured. A dominant pitching performance, some contact work, and exploiting the weaknesses of the imperfections of the opponent. Jose Ramirez was the hero in Game 1, and he was the cause of the run spillage in Game 2. Freddy Peralta clicked, as the Rays knew he would given the change of scenery, and gave the ace performance they knew he would. And guys like Ben Williamson, Jonny DeLuca and Liam Hicks kept the train rolling for Tampa as they wrapped up the initial stretch at the Trop.
I'd been pulling for a Guards-Brewers series, and a Rays-Brewers series...honestly wouldn't be too bad either, seeing as neither franchise has ever won, and both are very like-minded contact-heavy teams. But last night pointed out the existence of a very fun narrative. You see...the Brewers are two games from a World Series despite trading away their #1 asset at the beginning of the season, Freddy Peralta. It did get them Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat, neither of which are on the current playoff roster for Milwaukee, and it cleared the way for Robert Gasser, Shane Drohan and Logan Henderson to have definite rotation spots, but considering that they still managed to compete and make it to another NLCS, trading a guy like Peralta is still a dodgy move. The Rays had every right to take advantage of his market value, and him becoming a hero for them right now is the result of everything that's happened in the last year. Furthermore, it gives the perfect revenge narrative for Peralta to try and win a World Series against his old team.
If you'll recall, this nearly happened last year. We were somewhat close to a Brewers-Mariners World Series last year [and I'd have preferred this]. Peralta came up with the Mariners, and was dealt to Milwaukee after the 2015 season, in exchange for Adam Lind, who did approximately dick with the Mariners. He could have gotten his revenge against the M's, but neither team made it. Here, the revenge plot returns. It works twofold, because if the Rays beat Cleveland, Junior Caminero gets his revenge after being traded for Tobias Myers, who coincidentally was part of the trade that sent Peralta to Queens earlier this year.
Lots of fun revenge plots stewing if the Rays make a World Series, which is looking a little likelier than it was, though I'm certainly not counting out the Guardians yet. It does make me a little more intrigued about seeing the Rays advance, even if it's still not the outcome I'd prefer.
Tonight, we have Bobby Gasser vs. Blake Snell in LA. The numbers would tell you one story, but recent stats say something a little different. We'll see how this one goes. If the Brewers could win some games on the road this time it could be rather helpful.