Rays' Game 4 comeback stuns Brewers, forces Game 5

The Tampa Bay Rays produced a Game 4 comeback on Tuesday night, scoring twice in the bottom of the twelfth inning to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg and keep their season alive. Milwaukee had led 3-2 after the top of the inning and needed three outs to complete a sweep and claim the first World Series title in franchise history. Tampa Bay recorded no outs in its half of the inning and still won the game.

Rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt had put Milwaukee in front with a solo home run off Ian Seymour to open extra innings. The home run was Pratt's fourth hit of the night, and according to MLB researcher Sarah Langs, no rookie had previously collected four hits in a game that could have clinched a World Series. Pratt, aged 22, had also driven in Milwaukee's first run with a double in the fourth inning. His night looked set to end with a celebration on the field in Florida.

Tampa Bay answered immediately. Junior Caminero led off against Antonio Senzatela and reached base when third baseman Joey Ortiz threw wildly to first. Liam Hicks followed with a single off rookie left-hander Shane Drohan, moving Caminero to third. Cedric Mullins ran for Caminero, and Jonny DeLuca singled to centre to score Mullins and tie the game at three runs apiece.

Chandler Simpson then singled to load the bases, and Milwaukee brought in a fifth infielder with the infield drawn in. Pinch-hitter Ben Williamson, batting for Victor Mesa Jr., chopped a first-pitch single over first baseman Jake Bauers into right field. Nick Fortes, running for Hicks, scored the winning run. Tampa Bay had produced consecutive singles after the error, and Drohan, pitching for the first time since October 15, left without recording an out.

How the game reached extra innings

Tampa Bay took the lead in the second inning when Simpson doubled down the right-field line to score DeLuca from first base. Milwaukee levelled the score in the fourth when Pratt doubled home Sal Frelick, who had singled with two outs. The Rays moved back in front in the bottom of the fourth when Caminero scored on a throwing error by David Hamilton after a grounder from DeLuca.

Hamilton responded in the fifth inning with a solo home run off Griffin Jax that levelled the score at 2-2. Neither side scored again through the regulation innings, and the bullpens kept the score level until then. The game finished shortly before half past midnight Eastern time.

Milwaukee had arrived in St. Petersburg in commanding form. The Brewers won the opening games of the series by scores of 3-2, 5-4 and 10-1, the last of those a rout on Monday night that left Tampa Bay facing elimination. Milwaukee had also won nine games in a row before Tuesday night. The loss ended that run and denied the Brewers a chance to match the most dominant postseason runs of the wild-card era, a mark held by the 1999 New York Yankees and the 2005 Chicago White Sox.

What the result means for Game 5

The win changed the shape of the series without changing who leads it. Milwaukee still holds a 3-1 advantage in the best-of-seven series, and a further victory will deliver the club's first championship. Tampa Bay, which has also never won a World Series, now needs to win every remaining game to take the title. According to OptaSTATS, Tampa Bay became the fourth team in World Series history to avoid elimination with an extra-inning comeback, and the earlier teams to do it went on to win the championship: the 1912 Boston Red Sox, the 1986 New York Mets and the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals.

Rays manager Kevin Cash praised Williamson's decisive swing after the game, calling it a big moment for a player who had managed one hit in fifteen postseason at-bats before Tuesday night. Simpson said afterwards that Tampa Bay would keep fighting to the last pitch, a message the Rays backed up by refusing to fold after Pratt's home run. Ortiz, meanwhile, accepted responsibility for the error that started the rally, saying there was no excuse and that he had to make the play.

There was also concern for Tampa Bay over Caminero, who aggravated a left foot injury while running out the grounder that started the twelfth-inning rally. He stayed in the game long enough to sprint from first to third on Hicks's single before Mullins replaced him as a pinch-runner. Caminero said afterwards that he expected to play in Game 5 regardless of the state of his foot.

Game 5 takes place on Wednesday night back at Tropicana Field. Jacob Misiorowski is set to start for Milwaukee, while Tampa Bay had not named a starter at the time of writing. The Brewers have not appeared in a World Series since 1982, and the Rays are trying to extend a series that looked finished when Pratt rounded the bases in the twelfth. After Tuesday night, neither club can assume how the next game will end.

Sources: Associated Press report on the Rays' win and NBC Sports Bay Area recap. Milwaukee's 10-1 win in Game 3 had put the Brewers within a victory of the title. More sports coverage is available on the Sports topic page.