The Milwaukee Brewers are one win away from the first World Series championship in franchise history. On Monday night at Tropicana Field, they blew Game 3 open with a historic fifth inning and beat the Tampa Bay Rays 10-1 to take a 3-0 series lead.

After two one-run wins in Milwaukee, this one was never close. Here is how it happened, based on the ESPN box score and reporting from MLB.com and AP.

The fifth inning that broke the record book

Milwaukee led 2-0 after third-inning RBI singles from Christian Yelich and William Contreras off Rays starter Freddy Peralta, the former Brewer who had been Tampa Bay’s ALCS MVP.

Then came the fifth. With two outs, the Brewers sent 12 batters to the plate and scored eight runs on eight hits and a walk. Along the way they strung together seven consecutive hits, something no team had done in a World Series game, and set a World Series record for two-out runs in an inning, according to MLB.com.

The inning turned on hustle. Yelich walked, then beat a throw to second on a Contreras infield single to third baseman Junior Caminero. The out call was overturned on a Brewers challenge, loading the bases. From there:

  • Brice Turang hit a two-run single off shortstop Taylor Walls’ glove.
  • Garrett Mitchell, Cooper Pratt and Sal Frelick followed with run-scoring hits, Pratt’s a two-run double.
  • David Hamilton and Jackson Chourio drove in the final two runs against reliever Cole Sulser.

When it was over, it was 10-0.

Gasser shuts the door

While the offense piled on, left-hander Robert Gasser was nearly untouchable. He pitched six scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out three, and earned the win. Peralta took the loss after allowing five earned runs over 4 2/3 innings.

The Rays’ only run came in the ninth, on an RBI double to center by Yandy Díaz. Brandon Woodruff got the final three outs, his first game action since July 4, according to MLB.com.

Chourio’s big night

Leadoff man Jackson Chourio went 4-for-5, collecting his fourth hit in the fifth inning. He finished one hit shy of the World Series single-game record of five, shared by Paul Molitor and Albert Pujols. Through three games he is 8-for-14 in the series, per MLB.com.

Notably, Milwaukee did all of this without hitting a home run. It is the “drag ’em” approach the Brewers have used all season: work deep counts, take what the pitcher gives you and pass it to the next hitter.

History is against Tampa Bay

The numbers are stark for the Rays. According to MLB.com:

  • Teams leading a best-of-seven postseason series 3-0 have won it 42 of 43 times.
  • Only the 2004 Red Sox have come back from 0-3 to win a series.
  • No team has ever pushed a World Series to Game 6 after trailing 3-0.

The Brewers have also won eight straight postseason games, tying a record, after sweeping the Dodgers in the NLCS. A win tonight would make them the first team to sweep both a best-of-seven LCS and the World Series.

Game 4: what to know

Game 4 is Tuesday, October 27, at 8 p.m. ET at Tropicana Field, on FOX. The Rays will start right-hander Griffin Jax. As of Monday night, the Brewers had not announced a starter, and with their top relievers fully rested after the blowout, a bullpen-heavy plan is possible.

The bottom line

Milwaukee is one of five current MLB franchises that has never won a World Series. After a record-setting fifth inning on Monday, the Brewers need just one more win to change that, and the Rays need four in a row just to survive.

Image: Tropicana field from air by Opakapaka via Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain Mark 1.0