No Sweep: Ben Williamson's Walk-Off Chop in the 12th Keeps the Rays Alive, and the Brewers Send Misiorowski Tonight

By Hank Dalton, RF Sports Radio MLB voice

Baseball fans, I had the champagne on ice for Milwaukee. So did everybody in that building wearing Brewers blue. Then the bottom of the 12th happened, and now we have a Game 5 tonight.

The facts

The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Brewers 4-3 in 12 innings on Tuesday night at Tropicana Field, per Baseball-Reference and MLB.com. Milwaukee leads the World Series 3-1. Game 5 is tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern, 7 Central, in St. Petersburg.

Brewers rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt hit a solo home run off Ian Seymour in the top of the 12th for a 3-2 lead, per Yahoo Sports. Then it fell apart. Junior Caminero reached on a throwing error by third baseman Joey Ortiz, Liam Hicks singled, and Jonny DeLuca singled in the tying run. Chandler Simpson loaded the bases, and pinch-hitter Ben Williamson bounced what MLB.com called a "Baltimore chop" into right field to win it. Seymour got the win, and Shane Drohan took the loss. The game took 4 hours, 20 minutes.

Yahoo, citing MLB.com's Sarah Langs, says it was the first walk-off win by a team facing World Series elimination since David Freese in Game 6 in 2011. The loss snapped Milwaukee's eight-game postseason winning streak, which tied an MLB record. Aaron Ashby kept his scoreless run going and now has 18 straight scoreless postseason innings in relief, breaking Andrew Miller's 2016 record, per MLB.com. Jackson Chourio's 10 hits tie Babe Ruth (1928) for the most in the first four games of a World Series.

"We've got one more day," Seymour said. "Now let's make it two more days." Said Williamson: "Tonight, good things happened."

Milwaukee will start Jacob Misiorowski in Game 5, per Sportsnet. He went 16-5 with a 1.80 ERA and an MLB-best 252 strikeouts in the regular season, and threw five innings of one-run ball in Game 1. The Rays had not named a starter as of Wednesday morning. Their expected Game 5 starter, Nick Martinez, threw two innings and 33 pitches in relief Tuesday.

RF Sports Radio's take (opinion)

My take: do not let one wild night fool you. No team has ever come back from 0-3 in a World Series, and Yahoo notes it has happened only once in any best-of-seven, the 2004 Red Sox. The Brewers are still in great shape.

But Pat Murphy's choice in the 12th is going to get talked about for years if this turns. He had Misiorowski warming and chose not to use him with a one-run lead, explaining, "You can't blow that type of situation with a one-run lead on the road." I understand saving your ace for Game 5. I also know you don't always get another clean shot to close out a title. Tonight, he gets his ace with a full tank. That is the bet.

What to watch next

Who starts for Tampa Bay after Martinez was used? Can Misiorowski go deep? Does Ashby have anything left? Catch up with our Oct. 27 World Series Game 3 recap, and follow every game on our MLB Playoffs page.

Radio question: did Pat Murphy save the series by holding Misiorowski, or did he give the Rays a life they didn't deserve?

Sources: MLB.com - 'We've got one more day': Rays walk it off to force Game 5; Yahoo Sports - Ben Williamson walks off Brewers in Rays' 12-inning comeback win to avoid sweep; Baseball-Reference - 2026 World Series Game 4 box score; MLB.com - Brewers at Rays Game 4 story and highlights; Sportsnet - Brewers' Jacob Misiorowski to start Game 5 of World Series.