Rays Survive 12th Inning to Force Decider

Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash faced a simple arithmetic problem on Tuesday night: his team needed two runs to avoid elimination, and Milwaukee was one out away from its first World Series title. The Rays solved the equation in the 12th inning, snapping an eight-game winning streak for the Brewers and forcing a Game 5 at Tropicana Field.

The score was 3-1 in Milwaukee's favor after 11 innings. Junior Caminero grounded out to start the bottom of the 12th, but third baseman Joey Ortiz threw to first base and missed, allowing Caminero to reach safely. Liam Hicks followed with a single against rookie left-hander Shane Drohan. Jonny DeLuca then singled to center, scoring pinch-runner Cedric Mullins to tie the game at 3-3.

With the bases loaded and Milwaukee fielding a five-man infield, pinch-hitter Ben Williamson stepped in. Williamson, who had batted 1 for 15 in the postseason, hit a ground ball that bounced over first baseman Jake Bauers into right field. The run scored, giving Tampa Bay a 4-3 lead. Williamson credited Cash for the strategy, saying, "That was totally what I told him to do." Cash confirmed the instruction, noting the need for a "pretty big swing" given the defensive alignment.

Cooper Pratt had earlier given Milwaukee the lead with a solo home run off Ian Seymour in the top of the 12th. It was Pratt's fourth hit of the game. The 22-year-old rookie became the first player to hit an extra-inning home run in the World Series. Before that, he had tied the score at 1 with an RBI double in the second inning.

The win made Tampa Bay the fourth team in World Series history to avoid elimination with an extra-inning comeback. The previous three teams, the 1912 Red Sox, 1986 Mets, and 2011 Cardinals, all went on to win the championship. However, the Rays face a steep historical hurdle. They are the fifth team to come back from a 3-0 series deficit to win Game 4, and the previous four teams all lost Game 5.

Caminero hobbled off the field with a left foot injury after being replaced by Mullins at third base, but he said he would definitely play Wednesday. Cash joked, "He'll play tomorrow on one leg. I'll make sure of it." The Brewers, who were bidding to become only the second team to sweep the League Championship Series and the World Series, now face Jacob Misiorowski, the National League Cy Young Award favorite, in Game 5. Cash said he had not yet decided on a starter for Tampa Bay.

Attendance at Tropicana Field reached 40,514. Milwaukee captain Christian Yelich acknowledged the difficulty of the situation, stating, "If you want to win a championship, you've got to survive some hard things." The Brewers had been on an eight-game winning streak before Tuesday, having won the previous three games of the series.