Three years ago, Cooper Pratt was playing high school baseball. On Saturday night, he drove in the go-ahead run in Game 2 of the World Series.
The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-4 to take a 2-0 lead in the Fall Classic, rallying from a 4-0 deficit after the first inning.
Pratt’s single to right field in the seventh scored Brice Turang and put Milwaukee in front for good. Speaking with FOX Sports’ Tom Verducci after the game, Pratt described how he approached the game-changing at-bat.
“There was a runner on third, so I was looking to get something up, and then got down 1-1 and chased a little,” Pratt said. “Heart rate was going, and I got back in, breathed, calmed down, and just looked for a pitch that I could handle. And I stayed inside it and went over first base, and I was pretty pumped up, man. It was pretty electric.”
The win was Milwaukee’s seventh comeback victory of this postseason. It was also the second time the Brewers have erased a four-run deficit in the playoffs, after they came back from 4-0 down to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-4 in Game 4 of the NLCS and complete a sweep.
Verducci asked Pratt what the secret behind those comebacks.
“As long as there’s game left, we have a chance, and I think we’ve all bought into that,” Pratt said. “We’re never out of it, and anytime that there’s still innings on the board and we still got at-bats, we still have a chance, especially with this bullpen and these guys, man. It’s special.”
That bullpen finished the job. Aaron Ashby got the final five outs, including a ninth inning that began with the tying run on second base and nobody out. Pratt said he never worried.
“There was never a doubt, man. There wasn’t a lick of confidence gone when he’s on the mound,” Pratt said. “He’s been doing it all postseason. He’s a dog, man. He’s a dog.”
The Brewers are now two wins from a World Series title.
