Brewers' bullpen delivers another knockout punch in World Series Game 2 win

The Milwaukee Brewers' biggest impact player on a nightly basis this postseason isn't any one individual.

Jacob Misiorowski is their biggest star, but he only pitches once every five days.

Jackson Chourio, Brice Turang, William Contreras and Christian Yelich are all really good players that consistently contribute, and they have all played a role in getting them to the World Series. But none of them should be the most feared aspect of this team.

The most feared aspect of the team, and the biggest game-changing impact they have, is the collection of arms they have in the bullpen.

They shone, once again, in Saturday's 5-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays and helped the Brewers take a 2-0 lead in the World Series as it shifts to Tampa Bay next week. 

The Brewers bullpen has become the star of this team

In most cases, the Brewers bullpen is locking down games and protecting leads.

But sometimes, as was the case on Saturday, its dominance is about giving the Brewers a chance to chip away and overcome a deficit. 

Tampa Bay scored four runs in the top of the first inning and looked to be in the driver's seat to take Game 2, even the series, and wrestle home-field advantage away from the Brewers. 

And then they never scored another run the rest of the game.

Milwaukee's bullpen took over in the top of the fourth inning and was nearly flawless for the final six innings of the game, keeping Tampa Bay within reach on the scoreboard and allowing the Brewers' bats to get runs in the fourth, sixth and seventh innings to finally take their first lead of the night. 

And then the Brewers bullpen did what it does best and locked it down in the eighth and ninth innings.

It helped make the Brewers just the fifth team to ever give up four runs in the first inning of a World Series game and come back and win. 

Milwaukee had the best bullpen ERA in the National League during the regular season, and was third-best in all of Major League Baseball. But for as good as they were over 162 games, they have become even better and even more lights-out in the playoffs.

On Saturday, they threw five shutout innings and allowed just four hits.

That lowers their postseason ERA to 1.25 in eight games. 

Opponents are hitting just .164 against them. 

It is not any one pitcher. It is never just one pitcher. It is everybody, as a collective group. 

The trio of DL Hall, Abner Uribe and Aaron Ashby has been especially dominant all season and in the playoffs, and they did it again on Saturday to close out the seventh, eighth and ninth innings. 

Ashby alone is now up to 15.1 consecutive scoreless innings in the playoffs.

This is a huge advantage to have, and it's one of the main driving forces behind the Brewers' success. 

When they score early, it shortens the games. When they fall behind early, it keeps them in games. All season the Brewers have been a team where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts as it relates to most of the starting pitching staff and the lineup. When it comes to the bullpen, they are all dominant.