As World Series Shifts to Tampa, Brewers Lead 2-0 and a Dome's Quirks Take Center Stage

The World Series resumes Monday night at Tropicana Field, where the Milwaukee Brewers, leading the Tampa Bay Rays two games to none, will face a ballpark quirk unlike any other in professional sports: a domed roof supported by catwalks that can turn a routine fly ball into an out, a ground-rule double or a home run, depending on which ring it hits.

Both games of the series so far, played at Milwaukee's American Family Field, were decided by a single run. Game 3 is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on FOX, with Games 4 and 5, if necessary, also set for St. Petersburg.

What happened

Ahead of the move to Florida, the Brewers held an on-field workout at Tropicana Field to rehearse plays off the building's roof structure. Coaches fed balls into a pitching machine aimed upward at the catwalks, forcing position players to track unpredictable caroms, according to MLB.com.

Manager Pat Murphy, asked about the unfamiliar ballpark, did not treat it as a novelty to be dismissed.

"It's very much a different place," Murphy said. "It seems like a great place, and you have to make adjustments to it. That's part of being a big leaguer."

Also Monday, former Rays manager Joe Maddon is scheduled to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 3 — a homecoming for the manager who led Tampa Bay to its only American League pennant, in 2008, the last time the franchise hosted a World Series game at the Trop.

The ballpark's ground rules

Tropicana Field's playing surface sits beneath four ring-shaped catwalks, lettered A through D, that run above fair and foul territory. Under the Rays' official ground rules:

• A fair ball striking the lower two catwalks, the C-ring or D-ring, is a home run.
• A fair ball striking one of the upper two catwalks, the A-ring or B-ring, remains in play if it comes down in fair territory.
• A fair ball that lodges on or stays on the A-ring or B-ring is a ground-rule double.
• A foul ball that strikes any catwalk is a dead ball.

The rule was in play as recently as this postseason. In Game 2 of the American League Division Series against the Yankees, a popup off the bat of New York's Spencer Jones struck the B-ring and fell back into shallow right-center field, where Rays outfielder Victor Mesa Jr. caught it for an out, MLB.com reported at the time.

The Brewers have their own recent roof history, of a different kind. In Game 1 of the National League Division Series against San Diego, a fly ball off the bat of the Padres' Ty France struck a support cable on American Family Field's retractable roof before falling into left fielder Jackson Chourio's glove for an out — a reminder that roofed ballparks, open or closed, can still intervene in a game.

Monday's pitching matchup

Tampa Bay will start right-hander Freddy Peralta, a former Brewers ace now pitching for the Rays after an in-season trade and this postseason's American League Championship Series MVP. Peralta is 7-0 with a 0.89 ERA across his last 10 outings since Aug. 26, and has a 1.45 ERA in seven starts at Tropicana Field since the deadline deal, according to MLB.com's pregame breakdown. Milwaukee counters with left-hander Robert Gasser, who is 2-0 with a 1.51 ERA since late August and has allowed one run across two postseason starts.

Historical precedent favors the Brewers: teams that have taken a 2-0 World Series lead have gone on to win the title in 46 of 57 instances, or roughly 81 percent of the time, per the same MLB.com report. The Rays have been held back by uncharacteristic fielding mistakes and missed opportunities through the first two games, while Milwaukee's bullpen carries a 1.24 ERA this postseason, with closer Aaron Ashby yet to allow a run in 15 2/3 innings.

A series built on close games

Milwaukee, in the World Series for the first time since 1982, took both road-opening games in a series that has yet to be decided by more than one run. Game 2 turned on a Brewers comeback from a 4-0 deficit; shortstop Cooper Pratt's seventh-inning RBI single proved the decisive hit, reliever Abner Uribe earned the win, and closer Aaron Ashby recorded a five-out save. Chourio, the Brewers' left fielder, has been a persistent disruptor on the bases, adding two more hits and two more stolen bases in Game 2.

The Rays, seeking the first championship in franchise history, are trying to avoid falling into a 3-0 hole that no team has ever overcome in World Series history. Tampa Bay reached the Series by beating Cleveland in the American League Championship Series; Milwaukee got there by sweeping the Dodgers in the NLCS.

Who's affected

Both rosters are managing recent attrition. Rays left-hander Shane McClanahan was ruled out for the remainder of the postseason with forearm tightness, a notable loss for Tampa Bay's pitching staff as the series shifts home. On the Brewers' side, right-hander Brandon Woodruff was added to the World Series roster but has not pitched in either of the first two games; his readiness, after not having pitched in a game since July 4, remains an open question as Milwaukee looks for length from its pitching staff on the road.

What's next

Game 3 is set for Monday night at Tropicana Field, with Games 4 and 5 also scheduled there if the series continues that long. Should it return to Milwaukee, Games 6 and 7 would be played at American Family Field later in the week. A Brewers win in Tampa would push Milwaukee to the brink of its first World Series title since 1982; a Rays win would cut the deficit to 2-1 and keep alive Tampa Bay's bid for the first championship in its 29-season history.