Three Keys For Taking Down The Rays: Adjust To Minor-League Park, Take Advantage Of Vulnerable Starters

After a bumpy landing to start their two-series home stand, the Crew found their footing against the Astros, decisively taking games one and two before Houston returned the favor with a 9–1 rout to avoid the sweep. The Crew are now 6–4 in their last ten, a modest step forward from the broader .500 mark that defines their season so far.

It’s been an underwhelming start for Milwaukee, but they now head to Tampa to face a Rays team struggling perhaps even more visibly. The series will be played at George M. Steinbrenner Field—the Rays’ temporary home while Tropicana Field undergoes repairs after Hurricane Milton quite literally tore its roof off last October. Usually home to the Tampa Tarpons, a Yankees affiliate, the stadium is now serving as the stand-in for Major League Baseball.

Whether it’s the less-than-ideal new digs or just the familiar cycle: develop → compete → trade everyone → rebuild → repeat, the Rays seem off to a discombobulated start in 2025. Long defined by the mystique of their crafty defiance of budget constraints, this year’s club looks more like a team reckoning with the consequences of prolonged austerity. They aren’t dismal, but the spark feels hibernative, like a kid asleep in the backseat on a long car ride—waiting to wake up once they’re home.

There’s no clear face of the franchise, and what star power remains is decidedly muted. The Rays have competed meaningfully and consistently long enough that this is likely a temporary aberration. But it’s one the Brewers would do well to exploit—if they can keep their momentum going on the road.

Adjust to the Anomaly
Win or lose, Milwaukee is a baseball city, and its hometown faithful are loud and proud. Nearly 42,000 pack American Family Field on any given night, sticking it out through all nine innings with the kind of raucous energy that fills the air and provides a spark. The Rays? Well, they’re not even playing at Tropicana right now. Ongoing repairs after Hurricane Milton have them at George M. Steinbrenner Field—a spring training park with a max capacity of 11,026. And even that’s not selling out. It may not be the most orthodox home field advantage, but the Brewers are used to the cheers and the jeers - indifference, though, may be a different beast altogether. The Brewers will have to bring their own energy, because they won’t be able to source it from the crowd.

Aggression In Game One
The Rays are sending Zack Littell to the mound as their game one starter—an intriguing choice, given his unconventional career arc. Littell joined Tampa Bay in 2023 after a brief, disastrous stint with the Red Sox, who waived him following a forgettable showing. It was a very Rays move: take a flyer on a slumping pitcher with clear upside. And, as usual, it’s paid off—at least to a point. From 2019 to 2021, Littell’s ERA zigzagged wildly: 2.68, then a brutal 9.95, followed by a solid 2.92. That volatility hints at both his ceiling and his fragility. Since arriving in Tampa, he’s shown signs of stability, but early 2025 has raised some red flags. A noticeable dip in velocity and a low strikeout rate could make for red meat for a slumping Jackson Chourio. It could compel a reticent Christian Yelich to substitute his discipline for power.

Attack Rasmussen Early
One time, Brewer Drew Rasmussen has been a bright spot for the Rays with a 3.09 ERA, but early-inning issues have accounted for much of the damage he has sustained this year. In the first, he pitched a total of seven innings with a reasonable 3.86 ERA, but that number ballooned up to 7.71 in the second. It would seem Rasmussen finds a solid rhythm once the game gets going, so it would be prudent for the Crew to exploit this weakness before he tightens up and they are forced to contend with a stronger Rasmussen and a very solid bullpen to follow.

Predictions: The Rays just don’t feel complete this year, and it’s because they simply aren’t. Inasmuch as they might have a face of the franchise, they are either injured (Shane McClanahan) or having a down year (Yandy Diaz). Combined with the fact that they aren’t playing in a major league stadium, it has to be disorienting for the adrift Rays. I think the Brewers are likely feeling a touch refreshed from a fairly successful homestand and will take that momentum to Florida and take two of three.