MLB WORLD SERIES: RAYS VS BREWERS

October 24, 2026

Kevin Cash

American Family Field

Tampa Bay Rays

Postgame 2 Press Conference

Brewers - 5, Rays - 4

Q. Obviously Ras has set such a high bar and you gave him a 4-0 lead. What did you see from him tonight?

KEVIN CASH: Just wasn't as sharp, wasn't as crisp. I thought after the second inning, the third inning, he kind of settled in, started throwing some good change-ups. But Milwaukee, they put together a bunch of good at-bats throughout the entirety of the game. Certainly his outing lasted everything he could compete, and just felt like he wasn't as sharp as he's been for quite some time.

Q. How different does that game play out if Aranda catches Contreras' pop-up?

KEVIN CASH: It may be different. We'll never know. Look, we didn't play our cleanest baseball game by any stretch. We pride ourselves on doing everything we can to support the pitchers and making plays behind them. Today was probably not our best day.

Q. Was the send on Hicks just trying to be overaggressive there?

KEVIN CASH: That's kind of been our MO all season long, put pressure on the defense. Know that Chourio is extremely talented out there, gets rid of the ball really quick, but put pressure on the defense. He got rid of it quick and put it right on the bag to Contreras.

Q. Just to follow up, was the aggressive base running more a part of a plan considering Milwaukee's got such a great pitching staff? Has the team taken it a little too far on occasion in this series?

KEVIN CASH: Yeah, I think we've made some mistakes on the bases for sure, going back to yesterday. I think that was a decision that -- I support Brady's decision without a doubt. Two outs right there. You know how talented that pitching staff is. How many times are you going to piece together that many singles? Let's see if we can put some pressure on somebody else.

To their credit, they have responded with everything that we have thrown at them in these first two games.

Q. You went to Ian there obviously, and the home run has been an issue for him during the year. Better than he was his last couple outings?

KEVIN CASH: Look, they put a bunch of good at-bats. I thought the first at-bat, Ian got a little bit stubborn with the fastballs he continued to throw to Frelick. He misses middle down -- not misses, throws the ball middle down and carries it out to center field. Then he settled in.

But those guys put together some tremendous at-bats driving the pitch count up. He picked up two strikeouts, and it took him almost 20-plus pitches to get two strikeouts.

Q. You don't see Yandy get upset that often. At the end there, what did you see there from your view?

KEVIN CASH: Just the emotion, wanting to come through right there in the moment. He didn't feel like he check swung. I didn't go look at it, but from my vantage point, it did look like that he swung.

Q. One more pitching question. The idea was to get a ground ball there?

KEVIN CASH: Yeah, a ground ball or a strikeout. Cooper Pratt did a heck of a job staying on the ball, not trying to do too much, and shoot it the other way.

Q. For those who might not be as familiar, your ball club has been really resilient. What will it take now to manage that part of it?

KEVIN CASH: Yeah, getting on a plane tomorrow morning or tomorrow afternoon and then -- these Milwaukee fans have been really loud. I know our fans are going to be really loud and excited to see us come back and kind of reset ourselves a little bit.

We've got a really good pitcher going, as do they. A lot of confidence in this club to respond. They've done it all season long, and they'll continue to do it.