ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Armed with a fearless attitude and refusing to let their championship dreams slip away, the Tampa Bay Rays extended their season for at least one more day in dramatic fashion. By manufacturing a thrilling comeback in the bottom of the 12th inning, the Rays secured a victory that forces a Game 5 back at their home ballpark on Wednesday, shifting the momentum of a Fall Classic that had appeared firmly in the Milwaukee Brewers’ control.
For the first three games of the series, and deep into Tuesday night’s contest, the high-octane Tampa Bay offense had been stymied at every turn by a resilient and well-coordinated Milwaukee pitching staff. Down to their final three outs and staring a potential series sweep and championship celebration in the face, the Rays finally broke through. Jonny DeLuca and Ben Williamson provided the offensive heroics needed to rewrite the script, turning what looked like an insurmountable 3-2 deficit into a joyous celebration on the infield grass at American Family Field—though the venue details in this high-stakes matchup underscore the intense, back-and-forth nature of a Fall Classic where home-field advantage has been heavily contested.
Having successfully climbed out of an ominous 3-0 series hole, the Rays suddenly find themselves infused with newfound life and momentum. However, the elation of survival immediately gives way to logistical challenges, chief among them being the formulation of an emergency pitching plan.
Tampa Bay right-hander Nick Martinez would have been the logical and most probable candidate to take the mound as the Game 5 starter on Wednesday. Instead, with the stakes at their absolute peak on Tuesday, Martinez was called upon out of necessity to pitch two crucial innings of relief, effectively removing him from the immediate starting rotation picture and forcing manager Kevin Cash and his coaching staff back to the drawing board.
"We’re going to get together after this session and sit down and talk about pitching," Rays manager Kevin Cash said following the dramatic victory, addressing the immediate dilemma facing his front office and bullpen coaches. "Going to check who’s available. I’m going to guess most guys are going to say they’re capable of an inning or more given it’s Game 5 of the World Series, but nothing has been decided yet."
The path to Tuesday night’s extra-inning thriller was defined by relentless pitching and timely power. The Brewers had managed to knot the score at 2-2 in the fifth inning thanks to a sharply hit home run off the bat of David Hamilton, erasing early tension and locking both teams into a tense, high-stakes stalemate. The score remained deadlocked through regulation and well into the extra frames, a testament to the depth and resilience of both bullpens.
The tension finally snapped in the top of the 12th inning. Milwaukee struck a potentially fatal blow when Cooper Pratt stepped to the plate and launched a solo home run for the Brewers, breaking the tie and putting Milwaukee just three defensive outs away from hoisting the World Series trophy.
Trailing 3-2 and facing elimination with zero margin for error, Tampa Bay caught a rare and desperately needed break. Brewers third baseman Joey Ortiz committed a costly throwing error on a routine grounder off the bat of Junior Caminero to open the bottom of the 12th inning, throwing open the door for a potential rally. Liam Hicks followed with a sharp single, setting the table for DeLuca. With the pressure at its apex, DeLuca delivered an RBI single to center field, plating the tying run and bringing the score to 3-3 while sending the home crowd into a frenzy.
The relentless pressure did not let up. Chandler Simpson followed with another single, instantly loading the bases with nobody out and putting the championship-clinching scenario entirely on the defensive shoulders of the Brewers. Manager Kevin Cash turned to his bench, calling upon Ben Williamson to pinch-hit in the most critical plate appearance of his young professional career. Williamson answered the call instantly, bouncing a ball safely into right field to drive in the winning run and set off a wild, celebratory dogpile on the infield.
"Cash just kind of turned around and said, ‘Get ready to hit,’" Williamson recalled of the sudden, high-pressure moment. "Jokingly in my head, I was thinking, ‘Yeah, I’ve been ready to hit since the fourth or fifth inning.’"
With the victory, the resilient Rays live to fight another day, though the mountain they must climb remains steep. The Brewers still hold a commanding 3-1 series lead and retain multiple opportunities to close out the matchup and capture the first-ever World Series title in franchise history. Should Tampa Bay manage to defend its home turf in Game 5 on Wednesday, the series would shift back for Games 6 and 7 if necessary, lengthening a grueling test of endurance.
Inside the Milwaukee clubhouse, the mood was subdued by the missed opportunity, but veteran leaders emphasized the importance of a short memory on baseball’s biggest stage.
"Nobody said any of this was going to be easy, but I think we have the right group to get a good night’s sleep, flush it and be ready to go (Wednesday)," said Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers. Bauers has experienced a challenging series at the plate, going 2-for-17 with three walks, but remains a vital veteran presence after earning the prestigious National League Championship Series MVP award earlier in the postseason.
While the Rays scramble to piece together a coherent pitching strategy on short rest, the Brewers will counter from a position of relative strength by handing the ball to National League Cy Young Award favorite Jacob Misiorowski. The towering, hard-throwing right-hander was dominant earlier in the series, allowing just one run over five stellar innings to earn the victory in Game 1.
Over three starts and 13 1/3 innings of postseason work this fall, Misiorowski boasts a stellar 1-0 record paired with a 2.70 ERA and 14 strikeouts, though he managed just three punch-outs against this disciplined Tampa Bay lineup in the series opener.
"You can write it up and hope that they perform like the back of their baseball card, but that doesn’t always happen," Brewers manager Pat Murphy said after announcing Misiorowski as his Game 5 starter. "You go with what you believe is the deal. I trust our guys. They put themselves in a position to win."
The sheer physical toll of the series has pushed both dugouts to their absolute limits. While the Rays exhausted seven different pitchers in their desperate quest to keep their season alive in Game 4, the Brewers went even deeper into their organizational depth, deploying eight arms in an ultimately unsuccessful bid to wrap up the championship. As both teams pivot toward Game 5, the outcome may very well be decided by which bullpen can recover its stamina the fastest.
Reflecting on the unique challenges posed by the matchup, Cash highlighted the distinct style of play that has defined the Fall Classic thus far, noting that conventional metrics do not always capture the grit required to survive deep into October.
"You’re seeing two elite contact offenses where strikeouts are very tough to come by," Cash observed. "We weren’t knocking balls in the gap or knocking balls out of the ballpark. We pieced together a big (12th inning), maybe the most important inning of our season."