AARON ASHBY BREAKS POSTSEASON SCORELESS RELIEF RECORD

Aaron Ashby broke the record for scoreless innings by a reliever in one postseason during the Milwaukee Brewers’ World Series game against the Tampa Bay Rays. The left-hander retired all seven batters he faced, extending his scoreless run to 18 innings across nine postseason appearances. Andrew Miller held the previous mark of 16 innings for Cleveland in 2016. Tampa Bay went on to beat Milwaukee 4-3 in 12 innings on Tuesday night in St Petersburg, avoiding a sweep. Milwaukee had been three outs from its first World Series title.

Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy removed Ashby with one out in the 11th, and Antonio Senzatela recorded the remaining two outs. Rookie Cooper Pratt put the Brewers ahead 3-2 with a solo home run to open the 12th. Joey Ortiz then made a throwing error on Junior Caminero’s ground ball. Shane Drohan replaced Senzatela as Tampa Bay mounted its winning rally. Accounts differ on whether Drohan allowed three or four consecutive singles; the longer sequence includes Chandler Simpson alongside Liam Hicks, Jonny DeLuca and Ben Williamson.

“I just didn’t do the job there,” Drohan said. He had not pitched since 15 October, when he faced the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. During the regular season, Ashby went 13-3 with a 3.12 earned run average in 71 relief appearances. He has allowed five hits and three walks and recorded 20 strikeouts during this postseason. His scoreless streak, including regular-season games, stands at a career-best 22⅔ innings.