What we covered here
- Tampa Bay comes back in the 12th to win! The Tampa Bay Rays scored two in the bottom of the 12th inning to overcome a one-run deficit, defeating the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-3, in Game 4. The best-of-seven World Series is now 3-1 in favor of the Brewers.
- Extra-inning drama: Cooper Pratt put the Brewers up a run in the 12th inning with a home run, but the Rays answered back in the bottom of the inning with their own rally. Ben Williamson’s pinch-hit single scored Nick Fortes for the winning run.
- Tampa Bay faces long odds: Twenty-five previous teams have gone down 0-3 in a World Series. None of them have come back to win.
- Game 5 is Wednesday night: The Brewers will have another chance to clinch the title when Game 5 takes place at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
Updates
(43)Tampa Bay rallies with season on the line, beating Milwaukee 4-3 in 12 innings
The Tampa Bay Rays gave the Milwaukee Brewers a dose of their own medicine in Game 4 to avoid getting swept Tuesday night (and Wednesday morning) in St. Petersburg, Florida.
The Rays extended their season at least one more day thanks to a walk-off single from Ben Williamson to win the game, 4-3, in 12 innings.
The Rays jumped out to an early lead with an RBI double from Chandler Simpson to get the scoring started in the second inning.
But just as they have all season, the Brewers always seemed to have an answer. Milwaukee leveled the game at 1-1 in the top of the fourth inning on a Cooper Pratt double.
The Rays immediately reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the fourth thanks to a throwing error from Brewers third baseman David Hamilton, who immediately atoned with a game-tying home run in the fifth inning to knot the game at 2-2.
The game would grind on tied 2-2 into the late innings, and eventually into extra innings. As each team exhausted their bullpen and bench, it became a question of which team was going to blink first.
Tuesday turned into Wednesday as the game reached a climactic 12th inning. Pratt struck again for Milwaukee with a towering home run into the left field seats off Tampa Bay reliever Ian Seymour that had the Brewers sitting on the brink of their first championship in franchise history.
But the Rays channeled their inner Brewer in the bottom of the 12th inning. That meant small ball and a lot of traffic on the base paths.
Junior Caminero led off the inning with a bouncer to third base and reached safely on a throwing error by replacement third baseman Joey Ortiz. Liam Hicks followed that with a soft chopper that found its way into left field and moved Caminero to third base.
Next up, Jonny DeLuca hit a seeing-eye grounder back up the middle and through to center field to drive in pinch-runner Cedric Mullins. After failing to get a sacrifice bunt down, Simpson lined a single into center field to load the bases with no one out.
Ben Williamson then stepped to the plate a hit a high chopper over the first baseman’s head and into right field to score pinch-runner Nick Fortes with the game-winning run.
The late game heroics make for a Game 5 on Wednesday where the Rays will once again try to cobble together a win, having used their scheduled Game 5 starter Nick Martinez in relief on Tuesday.
The Brewers will send presumptive National League Cy Young Award winner Jacob Misiorowski to the mound to try to clinch their first-ever World Series title.
Rays survive sweep and have a chance to make history
Baseball history is long. Basically everything has happened at least once. Except, that is, a comeback in the World Series for a team down three games to zero.
Of the first 25 teams that have ever fallen into such a Fall Classic hole, none came all the way back to win it all. None forced a Game 7. None forced a Game 6. Only four avoided the sweep to even play a Game 5.
The Rays, the 26th such team to find themselves on the ignominious end of a 3-0 start to the World Series, at least have done that much.
They lost each of the first two games in Milwaukee with the tying run standing on third base for the final out. They returned to Tampa, where they enjoyed the AL’s best home record in the regular season, to find Tropicana Field overrun with Milwaukee fans and got embarrassed in a blowout.
At that point, history said they should probably just pack it in.
Instead they battled for 12 innings to keep their season alive and in the end won with a barrage of singles that culminated with the last man off the bench pinch-hitting for a game-winning RBI.
“We got a lot of fight in us,” Chandler Simpson, who has flashed his vastly improved outfield defense through the series while running rampant on the basepaths, said on the Fox broadcast after the game.
The Brewers – the best team in baseball the past two regular seasons – are fantastic, but a sweep would have obfuscated just how close a matchup this series could, and should, be – and was for at least one night (and into the wee hours of the next morning). Tampa is still on the brink.
On Wednesday, though, they get to try to do something no team has ever done before.
Rays win on a 12th-inning comeback to make it a 3-1 series!
And this World Series will continue for another night!
The Tampa Bay Rays battled back in the bottom of the 12th to complete the comeback and win Game 4 of the World Series, 4-3!
It started with an error that allowed Junior Caminero to reach first base, but seemed to cost the team their star on the base paths with an apparent injury. Caminero made it to third base on a single by Liam Hicks, where he was replaced by Cedric Mullins as a pinch runner.
Jonny DeLuca singled to tie it. Chandler Simpson singled to load the bases again.
And then came Ben Williamson, pinch hitting, who singled with a high, looping chopper to drive in the winning run.
Hicks, DeLuca, and Simpson all recorded their hits after getting two strikes. It was, in other words, a rally that looked a lot like what the Brewers have done to the Rays all series and especially in the blow-out fifth inning in Game 3.
Williamson, who got the winning hit, had been 1-for-15 in the postseason before that at bat.
Score: Rays 4, Brewers 3
The Rays are battling and have tied the game!
The Rays aren’t going down easy.
Junior Caminero reached on an error after getting jammed and Liam Hicks’ single moved him over to third base and the tying run is just 90 feet away.
Caminero has been taken out of the game in favor of pinch runner Cedric Mullins, looking to get the tying run across and keep this game going.
Jonny DeLuca blasts a single back up the middle and drives in Mullins! The game is once again tied!
Score: Brewers 3, Rays 3
Rays are down to their last 3 outs
Ian Seymour worked his way through the rest of the 12th inning with no further damage.
There was a bit of history made in the meantime as Brewers left fielder Jackson Chourio collected his second hit of the night and 10th hit of the series with a double into the right-center field gap.
Chourio’s 10 hits through four World Series games ties a record set by Babe Ruth in 1928.
Score: Brewers 3, Rays 2
Cooper Pratt puts the Brewers on the brink of World Series glory!
Who’s gonna blink first in St. Petersburg? It didn’t take long to get an answer.
Cooper Pratt collected his fourth hit of the game, and the biggest hit of his career, with a towering homer to left-center off Rays pitcher Ian Seymour.
Score: Brewers 3, Rays 2
Yandy Díaz comes out of the game for a pinch runner and the Rays can't score
After Yandy Díaz works a walk, the Rays opt to compromise future innings for the chance to end it in the 12th by replacing him with pinch runner Jorge Mateo.
Mateo does his part and steals second, putting the go-ahead run that would save the Rays’ season into scoring position. But (alas, for all our sleep schedules) that’s as far as he makes it.
Jonathan Aranda flies out and the game continues into the 12th.
Score: Rays 2, Brewers 2
Brewers get another runner on but can't move him past first base
Tyler Wells took to the hill again for Tampa Bay as the 11th inning got underway, and he quickly retired Christian Yelich and William Contreras.
Manager Kevin Cash then made the call to the bullpen for Cam Booser, who had a disastrous appearance yesterday in Game 3.
Booser promptly walked Brice Turang on four pitches to bring up Sal Frelick, who has had a few clutch plays in this World Series. Booser was able rebound, though, and retired Frelick with a check-swing strikeout.
The Rays come to the plate with a chance to win Game 4 – again.
Score: Rays 2, Brewers 2
Rays down in order in the 10th. How many shutdown relievers can Milwaukee possibly have?
Aaron Ashby is back in for the 10th. (Using closer Trevor Megill for just one batter was A Choice, but because it’s the 2026 Brewers, it probably won’t backfire!)
He gets Jonny DeLuca to ground out quickly, makes a slick fielding play and fires a bullet to first to get Chandler Simpson, and strikes out Victor Mesa, Jr., who has five strikeouts in 13 plate appearances this series.
Let’s play 11!
Score: Rays 2, Brewers 2
Rays escape the 10th with no damage done
With the exception of the Game 3 blowout, every game in this series has been a nail-biter, and tonight is no exception.
With zero margin for error, the Rays turn to reliever Tyler Wells in the 10th inning.
After a lazy flyout from Joey Ortiz, Jackson Chourio stepped to the plate with visions of a World Series MVP award dancing in his head. Chourio squared one up, but it was a line drive straight at center fielder Jonny DeLuca, who barely had to move to make the catch.
A swinging strikeout of Jake Bauers sends Game 4 to the bottom of the 10th.
Score: Rays 2, Brewers 2
Aaron Ashby sets scoreless streak record and game goes to extras
Aaron Ashby, who entered the ninth inning working on a historic scoreless streak this postseason, quickly ties Andrew Miller’s record of 16 innings without surrendering a run in October with a strikeout of Jonathan Aranda.
He gets Junior Caminero to ground out – with a help in the at bat from William Contreras’ impeccable pitch challenging – to set a new record. One more ground out by Liam Hicks and we are headed to extras!
Either the Rays’ season will end in heartbreakingly close fashion or they’ll stay alive in a walk-off.
Score: Rays 2, Brewers 2
The Rays' defense turns up huge to stymie the Brewers
Rays closer Bryan Baker was back on the bump for the ninth inning.
After quickly retiring Sal Frelick, Cooper Pratt collected his third hit of the game with a seeing-eye grounder into left field.
Garrett Mitchell gave the Rays’ faithful a scare with a fly ball to deep left, but Chandler Simpson was there to make a leaping catch at the wall.
On a pivotal play, Pratt tried to swipe second base and put himself in scoring position. Pratt was initially called safe, but the play was challenged by the Rays, and after a lengthy replay review, the call was overturned thanks to a great throw from catcher Liam Hicks and an even better tag from second baseman Richie Palacios.
Score: Rays 2, Brewers 2
A successful Rays challenge still leads to no offense and we head to the 9th
Taylor Walls tapped his head!
For just the second time this October, a Rays batter challenged a called strike and it worked! He won! It flipped the count from 2-2 to a hitter favorable 3-1…
And then two pitches later he lined out.
The Brewers call on closer Trevor MeGill to get the final out of the frame and he does. Successful challenge aside, the Rays go down in order and we’re headed to the ninth tied.
Score: Rays 2, Brewers 2
Exit Martinez, enter Baker as the Rays are pulling out all the stops
With Game 4 (and the Rays’ season) hanging in the balance, Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash made the call to the bullpen for his star closer Bryan Baker in the eighth inning.
Baker doesn’t usually pitch for more than a single inning, but after a breezy eight-pitch inning, the big right-hander will likely be back out again in the ninth inning.
The tension is rising as Tampa heads to the plate with another chance to save its season.
Score: Rays 2, Brewers 2
Rays get a baserunner, but fail to score
Chandler Simpson’s speed keeps the Rays from going down quietly in the bottom of the seventh.
D.L. Hall comes in to pitch for Milwaukee and gets two quick outs. But then Simpson singles on a ground ball that shortstop Cooper Pratt holds on to rather than risk sowing more chaos by trying to beat Simpson with a throw.
The American League stolen base leader draws a pair of pickoff attempts – which should have given him the chance to run freely as the next one would be a balk – but before gets the chance, Victor Mesa, Jr. grounds out to end the inning.
We’re headed to the eighth in a tied game with a championship on the line.
Score: Rays 2, Brewers 2
We're all tied up heading to the seventh inning stretch
Nick Martinez was back on the mound for the Rays in the seventh inning, with Fox Sports’ commentators speculating that manager Kevin Cash probably hopes to go with the Game 1 starter the rest of the way tonight.
Martinez appears up to the task with a 1-2-3 inning to send Game 4 to the seventh inning stretch.
Score: Rays 2, Brewers 2
Brice Turang flashes award-winning defense to turn two
Both these teams are good. One is probably better. But also, sometimes, the ball bounces your way and sometimes, well, you get doubled off when you desperately need a rally.
Yandy Díaz slaps a soft single to lead off the inning. And then Jonathan Aranda smacks a ball 108.1 mph off the bat. It had an expected batting average of .890.In other words, nearly nine out of ten times a ball hit just like that ball was hit would have cruised into the outfield and the Rays would have two on with no outs.
Not tonight, not against the Brewers.
Instead, Brice Turang, a Gold and Platinum Glove award winner, swiped the ball out of the air and doubled Díaz off at first. Bases empty, two outs. Next batter, Junior Caminero, grounds out to Turang for good measure and to end the inning.
Score: Rays 2, Brewers 2
Rays turn to Game 1 starter Nick Martinez in relief
Desperate times call for desperate measures. Enter Nick Martinez – the Rays’ scheduled Game 5 starting pitcher.
After a strong outing as the starter in Game 1, Martinez looked up to the pressure of the moment in his first inning of relief, retiring the Brewers in a scoreless sixth inning marred only by a bloop single from Cooper Pratt.
As for tomorrow? The Rays will cross that bridge when (if?) they come to it.
Score: Rays 2, Brewers 2
MLB's Stand Up To Cancer moment pulls at the heartstrings
It’s an annual tradition that means a lot to many – the Game 4 moment in which players and fans of both teams unite, along with nearly everyone else in the stadium, to remember those lost to cancer.
The pause in the game is powerful and provides a soft moment to remember all those affected by such a terrible disease.
Watch the moment below:
