Rays Rally in 12th to Beat Brewers 4-3 on Ben Williamson Walk-Off, Force World Series Game 5

The Tampa Bay Rays scored twice in the bottom of the 12th inning to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 on Tuesday night, Oct. 27, at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, avoiding a World Series sweep and forcing a Game 5, MLB.com reported. Pinch-hitter Ben Williamson drove in the winning run with a chopper into right field. Milwaukee still leads the best-of-seven series three games to one.

The rally came minutes after rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt hit a solo home run off Rays reliever Ian Seymour in the top of the 12th, his fourth hit of the night, to give the Brewers a 3-2 lead and put them three outs from the first World Series title in franchise history, The Guardian reported. The 22-year-old, who debuted in June, became the first rookie to hit an extra-inning home run in the World Series, according to The Guardian. "That was probably one of the coolest swings of my life," Pratt said, according to MLB.com. "But it's over."

How the 12th inning unfolded

Junior Caminero led off the bottom of the inning with a grounder to third against Antonio Senzatela. Joey Ortiz bounced his throw, and it glanced off first baseman Jake Bauers' glove for an error, MLB.com and The Guardian reported. Milwaukee then brought in rookie left-hander Shane Drohan, who was making his World Series debut and did not record an out, MLB.com reported.

Liam Hicks singled to send Caminero to third, and Jonny DeLuca singled up the middle to score pinch-runner Cedric Mullins with the tying run. Chandler Simpson singled to load the bases with no outs, and Milwaukee moved to a five-man infield, according to The Guardian. Williamson, who had been 1-for-15 in the postseason, then hit a high chopper over Bauers into right field to score pinch-runner Nick Fortes, running for Hicks, MiLB.com reported. The game lasted four hours and 20 minutes and ended at nearly 12:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday, according to MLB.com.

"Just to come back and scratch and find a way to win in the last inning is huge," Williamson said in a televised interview, according to MiLB.com. Rays manager Kevin Cash said, "We pieced together a big inning, maybe the most important inning of our season," MLB.com reported. "There's no excuse," Ortiz said, according to MLB.com. "Not one at all."

Early errors and a long bullpen night

Simpson gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead with an RBI double off Brewers starter Dustin May in the second inning, and Pratt tied the game with an RBI double off Griffin Jax in the fourth, The Guardian reported. In the bottom of the fourth, Brewers third baseman David Hamilton missed a tag on Caminero and then bounced his throw past Bauers at first base, allowing Caminero to score, according to MLB.com. Hamilton answered with a solo home run off Jax, his second of the postseason, and the score stayed tied 2-2 from the fifth inning until the 12th.

Tampa Bay used seven pitchers, including Nick Martinez, who threw two scoreless innings in relief, and closer Bryan Baker, who followed with two scoreless innings on 21 pitches, MLB.com reported. For Milwaukee, reliever Aaron Ashby extended his postseason record to 18 consecutive scoreless innings in relief, passing the 2016 mark set by Andrew Miller, according to MLB.com.

Caminero left the game with an ailing left foot after he was replaced by Mullins at third base, but he said he would play in Game 5, The Guardian reported. "He'll play tomorrow on one leg. I'll make sure of it," Cash said, according to The Guardian.

A rare comeback attempt

According to MLB.com, there had been 16 previous walk-off wins in World Series history by a team facing elimination, and the only previous team to do it while facing a sweep was the 1910 Chicago Cubs. The Guardian reported that the Rays are the fifth of 26 teams to fall behind 3-0 in a World Series and then win Game 4; the previous four all lost Game 5. In any best-of-seven postseason series, only the 2004 Boston Red Sox, against the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series, have come back from a 3-0 deficit.

The loss ended an eight-game postseason winning streak for the Brewers, who had been trying to become only the second team to sweep both a League Championship Series and the World Series, The Guardian reported. "It's supposed to be hard. It's supposed to test you," Brewers captain Christian Yelich said, according to MLB.com and The Guardian.

Game 5 on Wednesday

Game 5 is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 8 p.m. ET at Tropicana Field on Fox, according to MLB.com and The Guardian. Milwaukee will start Jacob Misiorowski, the 24-year-old MLB.com described as the presumptive National League Cy Young Award winner. He allowed one run on four hits in five innings in Game 1, MLB.com reported. "I think you just build on it," Misiorowski said of the Game 4 loss.

Cash did not name a starter after the game, MLB.com reported. Martinez, the Rays' Game 1 starter, had been the most likely Game 5 option before pitching in relief. "We've got one more day," Seymour said, according to MLB.com. "Now let's make it two more days." If the series continues, Game 6 would be played Friday, Oct. 30, and Game 7 on Saturday, Oct. 31, both in Milwaukee, according to The Guardian.