The Tampa Bay Rays are back at Tropicana Field with their season on the line again Wednesday night, and they’re doing it after pulling off the kind of win that can briefly reset a series. A 12th-inning rally in Game 4 kept them breathing, trimmed Milwaukee’s lead to 3-1, and forced one more game in St. Petersburg.
The Brewers are still in position to close out their first championship, though, and they’ll send right-hander Jacob Misiorowski to the mound in Game 5. Misiorowski also started Game 1, when he gave up one run on four hits over five innings in Milwaukee’s 3-2 victory.
Tampa Bay, meanwhile, is still sorting out its pitching plan after burning through multiple relievers Tuesday in the marathon Game 4. The club had not formally announced a starter by Wednesday morning.
First pitch is set for 8 p.m. ET, with FOX, FOX Deportes and FOX One carrying the game.
Game 4 had the full playoff swing in it. Tampa Bay struck first in the second inning when Chandler Simpson scored after bringing Jonny DeLuca home. Milwaukee answered in the fourth on Cooper Pratt’s RBI double, then the Rays moved back ahead when Junior Caminero scored on DeLuca’s infield grounder.
The Brewers tied it again in the fifth on David Hamilton’s solo home run, and that score held all the way through the ninth. Milwaukee then grabbed the lead in the top of the 12th, pushing Tampa Bay to the edge.
But the Rays responded with two runs in the bottom half to win 4-3 and force the series to continue. Caminero got things started by reaching on a fielding error, and Tampa Bay followed with four straight clutch singles before second baseman Ben Williamson delivered the game-winner to right field.
Now the Rays need to do it again if they want the series sent back to Milwaukee for Game 6 on Friday. If the Brewers win Game 5, they’ll claim the franchise’s first World Series title.
The climb remains steep. No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win the World Series.
In the previous 25 World Series where a team led 3-0, all 25 ended with that team winning the championship. Four teams have taken Game 4 after falling behind 3-0, and all four were eliminated in Game 5.
The only club to erase a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven postseason series was the 2004 Boston Red Sox, who beat the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series.
For Tampa Bay, the formula is simple now: win again, stay alive, and keep the dream of the franchise’s first World Series title going one more night.
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