Rays Force Game 5 After 12th-Inning Walkoff Hit

Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash said his team would stay in the World Series after Ben Williamson hit a walkoff single in the 12th inning to defeat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 on Tuesday night. The victory forced a decisive Game 5 in St. Petersburg, Florida.

The Rays faced elimination after trailing the series 3-0. Junior Camerino started the bottom of the 12th inning with a ground ball to third base. Joey Ortiz, the Brewers third baseman, mishandled the play, and the ball bounced off first baseman Jake Bauers' mitt. That error put Camerino on first base and ignited a rally that saved the Rays.

Liam Hicks, Jonny DeLuca, Chandler Simpson, and pinch-hitter Ben Williamson each hit a single in the following four at-bats. The four hits came in a span of 15 pitches against rookie left-hander Shane Drohan. Cedric Mullins, who replaced Camerino as a pinch-runner, tied the game at 3 when DeLuca hit a ground ball past the mound. Williamson hit the final single, a chopper that kicked up chalk near the foul line, allowing Nick Fortes to score the winning run.

Milwaukee had taken a 3-2 lead in the top of the 12th inning when rookie Cooper Pratt hit a home run off Ian Seymour. Pratt, who made his major league debut in June, became the first rookie to hit a home run in World Series extra innings. The Brewers had won the previous four games of the series, including an 8-4 victory in Game 4. Their bullpen had allowed only one run in the final seven innings before the late rally.

Tampa Bay became the fourth team in World Series history to avoid elimination with an extra-inning comeback. The previous three teams, the 1912 Boston Red Sox, 1986 New York Mets, and 2011 St. Louis Cardinals, all went on to win their respective titles. The Rays also became the fifth of 26 teams to win Game 4 after trailing a best-of-seven series 3-0. The only team to complete such a comeback and win the championship was the 2004 Boston Red Sox.

Camerino injured his left foot during the game but said he would play in Game 5. Cash confirmed the All-Star slugger would take the field. The Rays ended the Brewers' eight-game winning streak and their bid to become the second team to sweep both the National League Championship Series and the World Series.

Jacob Misiorowski, the favorite for the National League Cy Young Award, is scheduled to start for Milwaukee in Game 5. Cash had not yet decided on a starter for Tampa Bay. The game lasted 4 hours and 20 minutes, ending at 12:28 a.m. Wednesday morning. It marked the first Series walkoff pinch hit in extra innings since Gene Larkin’s single won Game 7 for Minnesota in 1991.

Williamson, who had hit one time in 15 at-bats during the postseason, described the moment as a dream for any player. He said the team’s motto all season was to fight. The Rays returned to their white home jerseys for Game 5, following their use of Devil Rays throwback uniforms the night before. The crowd at Tropicana Field numbered 40,514, with many Brewers fans waving yellow towels and wearing cheesehead hats.