Now We Got Bad Blood: Rays 2, Brewers 8

Benches clearing was about as close as this lopsided game got.

How do you follow all the Euphoria from Monday’s Rays’ City Connect uniform release and slump-busting win? How about a blowout loss that included some spectacular defensive plays, a whirlwind of emotions, bench-clearing, and some punches thrown?

No two baseball games are ever the same.

The game opened with a competitive tone without indication of what was coming. Freddy Peralta was locked in and retired the Rays in order at the top of the first. Tyler Alexander did not look his best for the Rays in the bottom of the first. Former Ray Willy Adames hit a sacrifice fly to center field, allowing William Contreras to tag, score, and give the Brewers an early 1-0 lead.

In the second inning, the gloves were on full display. At the top of the second, it looked like Isaac Paredes was about to do what he did best: pull a home run over the left-field wall. Brewers’ left fielder Joey Wiemer had other plans, such as making a perfectly timed leap at the wall to rob Paredes of a homer.

The Brewers extended their lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the second inning thanks to an RBI single from Brice Turang and a later sacrifice fly from Contreras. Rhys Hopkins tried to extend the Brewers lead further, but Richie Palacios had other plans and showed off his defensive skills to end the inning.

The third inning is when the prelude to the drama began. Jose Siri stepped up to the plate and launched a no-doubt home run 452 feet to left-center field, trimming the deficit to 3-1. Considering his usual enthusiasm, Siri’s relatively tame reaction was still something that Peralta appeared to have taken offense to as he stared Siri down while he rounded the bases. This moment was the starting point for the tension that would follow.

Then, at the top of the sixth, things started to simmer. With a 3-0 count against Siri, Peralta threw a pitch that hit Siri, an act the umpires discussed and deemed intentional, leading to an immediate ejection for Peralta. Brewers’ manager Pat Murphy argued with umpires and earned an ejection of his own, getting tossed on back-to-back nights following his ejection in the ninth inning on Monday night.

The simmer turned to a boil in the eighth inning. Siri, again at the epicenter of the beef, grounded out to pitcher Abner Uribe at first base. Uribe appeared to wait at first base for Siri to exchange some words and then threw the first punch, causing both benches to evident. Uribe and Siri were both ejected following the scuffle.

The Brewers continued to extend their lead throughout these tense moments. Willy Adames smashed a three-run home run in the fifth inning to give the Brewers a 6-1 lead. The cushion was probably crucial in comforting them as things got testy.

Palacios hit an RBI single in the eighth following the ejections, but it was not enough to spark a rally, and the Brewers ultimately won 8-2.

These two teams still have another game to close the series on Wednesday. It will be interesting to see if any of the activities from Tuesday night spill into Wednesday. It's a good thing we won’t have to wait long to find out, as the first pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. ET.