The signs were there, but everyone chose to ignore them.
When the Milwaukee Brewers beat the San Diego Padres and swept the Los Angeles Dodgers, people should have realized that they were just that good. They are one win away from winning the World Series, and a win on Tuesday away from becoming the first team to win nine straight games in a single postseason and sweep the League Championship Series and World Series.
The Tampa Bay Rays have a sliver of hope, but history suggests that this series is already over. The Brewers are up 3-0, and it is the 25th time in World Series history that a team has taken a 3-0 lead. 20 of the previous 24 teams to take a 3-0 lead ended the Fall Classic in Game 4.
Of the four teams that lost Game 4, none of them lost Game 5. No team has ever trailed 3-0 in the Fall Classic and even forced a Game 6.
In postseason history, there has only been one team to blow a 3-0 lead. Only twice has a team even forced a Game 7 after trailing 3-0 in a postseason series.
The Rays are going to need a miracle to even have a chance to win the World Series. The Brewers are starting Dustin May in what figures to be a bullpen game, but their best bullpen arms are well rested for Game 4.
The Brewers did not use Aaron Ashby, JoJo Romero, DL Hall, Abner Uribe or Trevor Megill in Game 3. If they need length, Kyle Harrison can give it to them behind May as well.