The Brewers let Game 4 slip away in a way that stings, but they still get another crack at the title.
Milwaukee was three outs from finishing off one of the more impressive postseason runs, only to watch the Rays extend the series with a 3-2 win in 12 innings. Cooper Pratt’s 12th-inning homer had put the Brewers ahead, but without their top relievers, Shane Drohan couldn’t lock down the final three outs. Tampa Bay made him pay, and Milwaukee’s first loss of the postseason sent this thing one more day.
“When you're achieving something like this, it's going to have its adversity,” said Brewers manager Pat Murphy, video courtesy of MLB on FOX. “We had some things go our way yesterday; they had some things go their way today.
That's what it is. You live with it.
And if you're a competitor, you wake up tomorrow morning and come ready to play.”
Murphy didn’t sound rattled, and the Brewers don’t have much reason to be. They still have a chance to close out the World Series in Tampa Bay with a win in Game 5. Murphy said Jacob Misiorowski will get the ball in that closeout scenario, and it will be the first time the rotation has turned over in a postseason series.
That setup raises the next question: how deep can Misiorowski go? Milwaukee had to cover nine-plus innings in Game 4, and the top relievers were asked to work more than one inning.
For the first time this postseason, bullpen fatigue is on the table. If Misiorowski is as efficient as he was in Game 1, the Brewers could push him toward six innings.
“It’s all hands on deck,” said Murphy. “You can write it up, and hope they perform like the back of their baseball card, but that doesn’t always happen.
You go with what you believe is the deal. I trust our guys.”
Murphy also gave Tampa Bay its due after the Rays kept finding ways to put the ball in play when it mattered most. “Credit Tampa for what they did. They put it in play when they needed to.”
Both bullpens are going to be taxed entering Game 5, and Tampa Bay has its own pitching questions after covering 12 innings. Nick Martinez did throw a scoreless inning in Game 4, which adds another wrinkle to how the Rays piece things together on the mound.
Milwaukee has leaned on its bullpen all postseason and used it ruthlessly in dispatching both the Dodgers and Padres. But if this series goes back to Milwaukee for a sixth game, the grind of a long series could start to chip away at that edge.
In Other News...
Brewers Suddenly Face Real World Series Pressure In Game 5
After a 12-inning loss in Game 4, the Brewers once-comfortable World Series cushion is gone, and suddenly the pressure feels a lot more real heading into Game 5. The Rays fought their way back to trim the series to 3-2, and now Milwaukee is staring at a game that can either restore control or send the matchup into a much tougher place.
Tampa Bays pitching picture only adds to the intrigue. Manager Kevin Cash and Drew Rasmussen have already confirmed the All-Star will take the ball on short rest, a move shaped by the Rays need to get through the extra-inning marathon and keep the series alive. It sets up a tricky test for Milwaukee against Jacob Misiorowski, with the Brewers trying to cash in on the moment before the series swings again. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Are One Inning Away Thanks To An Unlikely Hero
The Brewers found themselves leaning on an unexpected source in Game 4 of the World Series, and it came at the perfect time. Milwaukee had already pushed the game deep into extra innings when rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt stepped in and delivered the kind of swing teams remember for years, giving the Brewers the lead they had been chasing all night.
Pratts blast in the top of the 12th against Tampa Bay reliever Ian Seymour put Milwaukee in front 3-2 and moved the club within an inning of its first World Series title. For a player still early in his postseason journey, it was the kind of moment that can change a series and maybe even the way the Brewers are remembered. [Read more 🡒]
Christian Yelich Put Milwaukees Long Wait Into Perfect Words
Christian Yelich did not need a big night at the plate to understand what the moment meant. Milwaukee had finally climbed to the top, beating the Tampa Bay Rays to win the World Series, and Yelich was right in the middle of the celebration even without a hit. He did score a run, but the larger story was the one playing out around him, with a franchise and fan base that had been waiting a long time to feel this kind of finish.
Afterward, Yelich struggled to put the emotion into words, which made sense given how long the city had been waiting for this payoff. He called it the best feeling ever and said he was speechless, a pretty fitting response for a team that had turned years of frustration into a championship night. For Milwaukee, it was the kind of ending that makes every previous near miss feel worth the wait. [Read more 🡒]