Rays Hit Walk-Off to Force Series Decider

Tampa Bay Rays players crossed the plate in the bottom of the 12th inning on Tuesday night to take a 4-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 4 of the World Series. The result forces a Game 5, keeping the championship series alive after Milwaukee had three outs remaining to win its first title.

Cooper Pratt, 22, had put the Brewers in position to clinch the championship. He hit a home run to lead off the 12th inning, giving Milwaukee the lead. The strikeout he recorded earlier in the night made him the first player his age to collect four hits in a potential World Series clincher. Pratt acknowledged the moment's weight, stating, "That was probably one of the coolest swings of my life, but it's over."

The momentum shifted immediately in the bottom of the 12th. Brewers third baseman Joey Ortiz threw a grounder from Junior Caminero into the infield, putting the tying run on base. The Rays then turned to rookie Shane Drohan, who had not pitched in 12 days. Drohan entered the game from the bullpen to face the final three batters in the top of the 12th.

Drohan's first pitch to Liam Hicks resulted in a hard grounder to the left side. The ball would have resulted in a double play had it not passed through Pratt, who was positioned closer to second base to field a left-handed hitter. The miss left runners on the corners with no outs. Jonny DeLuca followed with a single up the middle to tie the game, and Chandler Simpson did the same to load the bases.

Pinch hitter Ben Williamson ended the game with a hard chopper that sailed over the head of first baseman Jake Bauers into the outfield grass. The play marked only the second loss for Milwaukee in October and its first postseason defeat in 21 days. Drohan took direct responsibility for the outcome, noting, "I'm human. I know what I was walking into, and I just didn't get the job done."

Statistical data indicated the Brewers were unlucky. They produced 12 of the night's 13 hardest-hit balls, nine of which exceeded 102 mph and resulted in outs. Ortiz accepted blame for the error that started the rally, saying, "I should make that play every f, ing time."

The loss ended a 10-of-11 record for Milwaukee in October. It also snapped an 18-game winning streak in games where the team held a lead at any point, a franchise record dating to Sept. 17. Captain Christian Yelich told reporters, "This stuff is not supposed to be easy. It's supposed to test you." Manager Pat Murphy added, "It's going to be hard. When you're achieving something like this, it's going to have its adversity."