Rays rally in 12th to force Game 5, hold off Brewers sweep

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. The Tampa Bay Rays kept their season alive Tuesday night, scoring twice in the bottom of the 12th inning to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 and force a fifth game of the World Series. Milwaukee was one out from a sweep and its first championship.

Jonny DeLuca and pinch-hitter Ben Williamson each singled home a run in that 12th frame. Cooper Pratt had put Milwaukee ahead 3-2 with a homer off Ian Seymour earlier in the inning, his fourth hit of the game. The Rays tied it at 3 when Liam Hicks singled and DeLuca's single to center brought home pinch-runner Cedric Mullins. Chandler Simpson then loaded the bases, and Williamson, who entered the at-bat 1 for 15 in the postseason, hit a chopper over first baseman Jake Bauers into right field to score the go-ahead run. "That was totally what I told him to do," Rays manager Kevin Cash said.

The rally began after third baseman Joey Ortiz threw wide on Junior Caminero's leadoff grounder against Antonio Senzatela. Caminero left the game with an ailing left foot and was replaced at third base by Mullins. Caminero said he will play Wednesday night, and Cash said, "He'll play tomorrow on one leg. I'll make sure of it."

Tampa Bay is the fourth team in World Series history to avoid elimination with an extra-inning comeback, according to OptaSTATS. The 1912 Red Sox, 1986 Mets and 2011 Cardinals did it before, and all three went on to win the title. The Rays also became the fifth of 26 teams to win Game 4 after falling behind 3-0 in a World Series; the previous four lost Game 5. Of 43 teams to trail 3-0 in any best-of-seven postseason series, only the 2004 Boston Red Sox came back to win, against the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series.

Williamson spoke after the game. "It just shows the resiliency of this group," he said. "We continue to fight, and that's been the motto this series and this full season, is just fight."

Milwaukee's bid for a sweep ended with the loss, snapping an eight-game winning streak. The Brewers were trying to become only the second team to sweep a League Championship Series and the World Series. "If you want to win a championship, you've got to survive some hard things," Milwaukee captain Christian Yelich said. "It's supposed to be hard. It's supposed to test you. We understand that."

Game 5 is Wednesday night at Tropicana Field. Jacob Misiorowski, the NL Cy Young Award favorite, starts for Milwaukee. Cash said he had not decided on a starter.

Pratt, a 22-year-old rookie who debuted in June, gave Milwaukee a 1-0 lead with an RBI double in the second inning after Simpson's RBI double off Dustin May in the first. Milwaukee tied it in the fourth when Sal Frelick singled and scored on Pratt's double. Griffin Jax relieved May, and David Hamilton homered off him in the fifth. Caminero's single in the fifth chased May, and he scored on an error. Frelick homered off Seymour in the ninth to tie it at 2 before Pratt's 12th-inning homer. The crowd of 40,514 included Milwaukee fans waving yellow towels and wearing cheeseheads.