ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Milwaukee was just three outs away from clinching its first World Series championship when Junior Camerino began the bottom of the 12th inning with a ground ball to third base.
Excitement surged through the thousands of Brewers fans packed into Tropicana Field, who had been eagerly anticipating this moment.
But then, things went sideways.
Third baseman Joey Ortiz’s throw was off target, bouncing away and nicking first baseman Jake Bauers’ glove, leading to an error.
What followed was one of the most remarkable rallies in World Series history.
Liam Hicks, Jonny DeLuca, Chandler Simpson, and pinch-hitter Ben Williamson delivered consecutive singles in a tense 15-pitch stretch against rookie Shane Drohan, allowing the Tampa Bay Rays to stave off elimination with a 4-3 victory, thereby forcing a Game 5.
“Sometimes the game really tests you. It pushes you to dig deep,” said Brewers captain Christian Yelich. “It’s all part of the experience, part of our story.”
Milwaukee rookie Cooper Pratt smashed a tiebreaking home run off Ian Seymour in the top of the 12th, giving the Brewers a 3-2 lead. You could feel the excitement as the Brewers dashed out of the dugout, sensing a potential series sweep since 2012.
The Brewers’ bullpen, led by Aaron Ashby’s seven outs, had been impressive, combining for seven scoreless innings until Caminero broke through against Antonio Senzatela.
Ortiz clearly felt the weight of the moment.
“I should have made that play,” he stated. “No excuses.”
Caminero seemed to hurt his left foot but remained in the game. Brewers manager Pat Murphy opted for Drohan, a 27-year-old left-hander who hadn’t seen action since a brief appearance in Game 4 of the NL Championship Series on October 15.
With Pratt playing deep for the left-handed batters, Hicks hit a grounder to left field that slipped through the gap left by the shifted players, allowing Caminero to slide into third base.
“From standard defensive alignment, that’s right at him,” Drohan commented about the setup.
Pinch-runner Cedric Mullins replaced Caminero. Then DeLuca, who had previously made stellar defensive plays to rob Yelich and William Contreras, hit a ground ball that Drohan tried to snag behind his back, to no avail. The ball rolled into center field, allowing Mullins to equalize the game at 3.
Nick Fortes ran at second for the slower Hicks. After a missed bunt attempt and a called strike, Simpson connected with a single to center, loading up the bases.
Sal Frelick moved in from left field to provide additional infield support, setting up a five-man defense.
Williamson, with a postseason batting average of just .067, came to the plate in place of Victor Mesa Jr.
“It’s every player’s dream to be in that situation,” Williamson said.
With the game’s 367th pitch, he hit a chopper that just skirted past the foul line. The ball took a high bounce over Bauers and rolled into shallow right field, allowing Fortes to score the winning run as he and his teammates celebrated in foul territory.
“That was exactly what I told him to do,” Rays manager Kevin Cash joked, eliciting laughter.
Drohan walked off the field, head down.
“It’s tough. I’m human,” he reflected quietly. “I knew the situation I was in, but I just didn’t get the job done.”
Tampa Bay became only the fourth team in World Series history to avoid elimination thanks to an extra-inning comeback, according to OptaSTATS, joining the ranks of the 1912 Boston Red Sox, 1986 New York Mets, and the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals—all of whom went on to win their respective titles.
“We’ve got an incredible fighting spirit. We won’t shy away,” Simpson remarked. “We’ll keep battling until the end—even if it’s the last inning or pitch.”
Game 5 of this best-of-seven series is set for Wednesday night at Tropicana Field, with NL Cy Young Award contender Jacob Misiorowski expected to start for the Brewers. Cash has yet to name a starter for the Rays.
Tampa Bay became the fifth of 26 teams that found themselves down 3-0 in the World Series to win Game 4; the previous four in that situation all lost Game 5.
Of 43 teams to trail 3-0 in any best-of-seven postseason series, only the Boston Red Sox have come back to win, doing so against the New York Yankees in the 2004 AL Championship Series.
“This shows the resiliency of our group,” Williamson said. “We keep fighting, and that’s been our motto this season—just keep fighting.”
Caminero was replaced by Mullins at third base as he limped off the field. However, the All-Star slugger assured that he would be ready to play in Game 5.
“He’ll be out there tomorrow, even if he’s on one leg,” Cash assured.
Tampa Bay snapped an eight-game winning streak by the Brewers, who were trying to become just the second team ever to sweep both the League Championship Series and the World Series.
“Today, we just played so freely,” DeLuca observed. “It’s a fantastic position to be in, and it’s a special opportunity for us.”
David Hamilton added a home run for the Brewers, and Jackson Chourio contributed a single and a double, improving his World Series performance to 10 for 20.
“When you’re chasing something like this, there will be obstacles,” Murphy commented. “We had our moments yesterday, and they had theirs today. That’s just how it goes.”
Pratt, the 22-year-old rookie, hit a slider out into the left-field stands against Seymour, marking him as the first rookie to hit an extra-innings home run in a World Series. This hit had previously propelled the Brewers to a 5-4 victory in Game 2 after Seymour allowed Frelick’s game-tying home run.
“This was never going to be easy,” Pratt said.
Brewers fans in a crowd of 40,514 brought a slice of Wisconsin atmosphere to the stadium, many waving yellow towels and sporting cheeseheads.
Tampa Bay donned its white home uniforms again, after sporting throwbacks the previous day.
Simpson delivered an RBI double against starter Dustin May in the second inning, but Milwaukee leveled the score in the fourth after Frelick’s two-out single led to Pratt’s double.
Caminero’s single led off the bottom of the fourth, prompting May’s exit, and he advanced on a groundout. DeLuca then hit a hard grounder to Hamilton, but Caminero managed to dodge the tag and scored thanks to Hamilton’s throw that sailed past Bauers.
Hamilton, known as Milwaukee’s No. 9 hitter, crushed a fastball from Jax into the right-field stands for his second postseason homer—half his total for the regular season and just his second since early June.
Following six scoreless innings, the game concluded dramatically after four hours and 20 minutes, finally ending at 12:28 a.m. This marked the first Series walk-off pinch hit in extra innings since Gene Larkin’s single clinched Game 7 for Minnesota in 1991.
“You fantasize about hitting a walk-off in the World Series when you’re just playing Wiffle ball in the backyard with your friends,” Williamson reflected.
