Jon Heyman
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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — After winning the American League thanks to their defense, their baserunning, their perennially superb manager Kevin Cash and as mistake-free a game as you’ll find, the real Rays better return in World Series Game 3 on Monday at home in their dastardly dome. If they don’t revert to their usual form, the opportunistic Brewers will end things soon.
The Rays reentered The Trop with a 2-0 deficit in games but did have the tying run on third in both defeats. So they might easily be up two-zip if they played to their norm.
Better news: The Rays were an MLB-best 55-26 at home (tied with the Brewers). They have to hope their baseball-white roof will throw off the more buttoned-up Brewers here.
The Rays also may need to better grasp the sense of urgency. They’ve lost two games by a run and somehow used struggling converted starter Steven Matz (5.49 regular season ERA) twice and nearly unhittable closer Bryan Baker no times.
