Rays' Kevin Cash discusses 'deflating' 5th inning in Game 3 loss

Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Rays' Kevin Cash discusses 'deflating' 5th inning in Game 3 loss to Brewers

By Matt Wadleigh | Last updated Oct 27, 2026 12:32 AM ET

The Tampa Bay Rays are suddenly in a win-or-go-home scenario after the Milwaukee Brewers won Game 3 of the World Series 10-1 on Monday night in St. Petersburg.

The Brewers scored two runs in the top of the third inning, but the fifth inning saw Milwaukee bring in eight runs to take a massive 10-0 lead.

The Brewers had a total of eight hits in the inning, and surprisingly enough, there were zero home runs in the entire game.

Rays' Kevin Cash says it was "deflating"

After the game, Rays manager Kevin Cash had a brutally honest assessment of the fifth-inning outburst by Milwaukee.

"It's definitely deflating. How could it not be?" Cash said in the postgame press conference.

"It's definitely deflating. How could it not be?" Kevin Cash talks about the 5th inning following tonight's loss. MLB Network https://t.co/0l3b7OPcE0
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) October 27, 2026

The Brewers had two outs with two runners on when Cash took starter Freddy Peralta out of the game. From then on, the runs came in full force.

Brice Turang had a two-run single, Garrett Mitchell followed with an RBI single, Cooper Pratt drove in two with a double, and Sal Frelick drove in another with a double before Cash pulled Cam Booser and went to Cole Sulser.

David Hamilton and Jackson Chourio each had RBI base hits after that.

It was an inning to forget for Tampa Bay, but the Rays went hitless until the bottom of the ninth, and Yandy Diaz drove in the team's only run of the game with two outs.

The Rays are now down 3-0, and Game 4 is on Tuesday night at Tropicana Field.

Matt Wadleigh

Matt Wadleigh is based in California and born and raised in the San Diego area. He studied print journalism at Fresno State for college and got to watch Paul George, Derek Carr and Davante Adams play in a Bulldogs uniform. His work has been featured at ClutchPoints, Sportscasting, Sporting News, and various USA Today sites, including UCLA Wire, where he was the first managing editor

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