Brewers Reliever Aaron Ashby Sets MLB Postseason Record for Scoreless Innings

Milwaukee Brewers left-hander Aaron Ashby etched his name into Major League Baseball lore on Tuesday night, breaking the single-postseason record for consecutive scoreless relief innings during Game 4 of the World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Entering out of the bullpen in the ninth inning of a 2-2 tie, Ashby retired all seven batters he faced, extending his flawless streak to 18 scoreless innings this October.

By keeping the Rays off the scoreboard through the ninth, tenth, and into the eleventh inning, Ashby surpassed the previous single-postseason relief record of 16 scoreless frames, established by Andrew Miller for Cleveland in 2016. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Ashby also became the first pitcher in postseason history to record at least five outs without allowing a run in seven consecutive appearances. Over nine playoff outings this year, the southpaw has allowed just five hits and three walks while striking out 20 batters.

During Tuesday's marathon contest, Ashby struck out Jonathan Aranda with a 98.3 mph sinker before inducing consecutive groundouts from Junior Caminero and Liam Hicks to finish a 1-2-3 ninth inning. He followed with a perfect tenth frame and notched another strikeout to open the eleventh. However, after throwing 31 pitches and seeing his fastball velocity diminish from its peak of 99 mph, Brewers manager Pat Murphy lifted Ashby with one out in the bottom of the eleventh, calling upon Antonio Senzatela to keep the game deadlocked.

Murphy explained following the game that preserving Ashby's health for the remainder of the Fall Classic was critical. “We’ve got to be mindful of your health, and we’ve got to be mindful of winning the whole thing,” Murphy said he told the reliever. “If you’re going to win the whole thing, you have to understand that we can’t drain you today or risk injury today.” Ashby accepted the managerial decision despite his competitive drive to remain on the mound. “One of those cool things, I guess, but more so that loss stings,” Ashby said of breaking the historic mark. “It’s part of our story and I think the boys are fired up to get back in here tomorrow.”

Despite Ashby's historic dominance, Milwaukee's quest to claim its first World Series title in franchise history suffered a late-inning heartbreak. Rookie Cooper Pratt gave the Brewers a 3-2 lead with a solo home run in the top of the twelfth inning, placing the club just three outs away from a series sweep. However, third baseman Joey Ortiz committed a throwing error on Caminero's leadoff grounder in the bottom of the inning. Rookie reliever Shane Drohan entered and surrendered four consecutive singles, culminating in a walk-off hit by pinch-hitter Ben Williamson to give Tampa Bay a 4-3 victory.

The record-setting performance continues a remarkable redemption arc for Ashby, who previously struggled on the postseason stage. Across 10 playoff appearances in 2021, 2024, and 2025, he had yielded nine runs—eight of them earned—over 9 1/3 innings. Following a regular season in which he went 13-3 with a 3.12 ERA in 71 relief appearances, Ashby has been virtually unhittable this fall, running his overall streak to a career-best 22 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings dating back to the regular season.

Ashby's postseason brilliance has also drawn glowing praise from baseball royalty. Prior to Game 3 on Monday, Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera—who holds the all-time record of 33 1/3 consecutive scoreless postseason innings across multiple postseasons—remarked on television that Ashby reminded him of himself on the mound. The Brewers will look to bounce back from the extra-inning defeat and secure the title in Game 5 on Wednesday night, handing the ball to ace Jacob Misiorowski while retaining closer Trevor Megill fresh in reserve.