10/28/2026 12:15:00
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10/28 00:13 CDT Rays stun Brewers with 2-run rally in 12th inning and force
World Series Game 5 with 4-3 win
Rays stun Brewers with 2-run rally in 12th inning and force World Series Game 5
with 4-3 win
By RONALD BLUM
AP Baseball Writer
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) --- Jonny DeLuca and pinch-hitter Ben Williamson
singled home runs in a stunning 12th-inning rally, and the Tampa Bay Rays
staved off World Series elimination with a 4-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers
on Tuesday night that forced Game 5.
Cooper Pratt hit a tiebreaking home run off Ian Seymour in the top of the 12th
for his fourth hit of the game as Milwaukee neared a sweep and its first World
Series title.
But the Rays, also seeking their first championship, rallied in the bottom half
after a throwing error by third baseman Joey Ortiz on Junior Caminero's leadoff
grounder against reliever Antonio Senzatela.
Liam Hicks singled off Shane Drohan, who relieved in his first appearance since
Oct. 15, and DeLuca's single to center drove in pinch-runner Cedric Mullins to
tie the score at 3.
Chandler Simpson's single loaded the bases and Milwaukee employed a five-man
infield with the infield in.
Williamson, who had been 1 for 15 in the postseason, hit a chopper over first
baseman Jake Bauers and into right field.
"We've got a lot of fight in us. We're never going to shy away," Simpson said.
"We were going to keep fighting until the end --- the last inning, the last
out, the last play, the last pitch. We were going to keep fighting. That's what
we did tonight."
Game 5 in the best-of-seven matchup is Wednesday night at Tropicana Field, with
NL Cy Young Award favorite Jacob Misiorowski scheduled to start for the
Brewers. Rays manager Kevin Cash said he hadn't decided on a starter yet.
Tampa Bay became just the fifth of 26 teams that fell behind 3-0 in the World
Series to win Game 4. The previous four lost Game 5.
Of 43 teams to trail 3-0 in any best-of-seven postseason matchup, the only one
that rebounded to win was the Boston Red Sox against the New York Yankees in
the 2004 American League Championship Series.
"It just shows the resiliency of this group," Williamson said. "We continue to
fight, and that's been the motto this series and this full season, is just
fight."
Caminero was replaced by Mullins at third base and hobbled off the field with
an ailing left foot. But the slugger said he'll definitely play Wednesday night.
"He'll play tomorrow on one leg. I'll make sure of it," Cash said.
Tampa Bay ended an eight-game winning streak by the Brewers, who were bidding
to become only the second team to sweep a League Championship Series and the
World Series.
"If you want to win a championship, you've got to survive some hard things,"
Milwaukee captain Christian Yelich said. "Like I said earlier, it's supposed to
be hard. It's supposed to test you. We understand that."
David Hamilton also homered for the Brewers. Jackson Chourio had a single and
double, improving to 10 for 20 in the Series.
Pratt, a 22-year-old rookie whose go-ahead hit sparked the Brewers to a 5-4 win
in Game 2, drove a slider into the left-field seats against Seymour. Pratt had
tied the score at 1 with an RBI double in the second.
Milwaukee players bounded out of the dugout to greet Pratt, who debuted in June
and became the first rookie to hit an extra-inning homer in the World Series.
Seymour had allowed Frelick's tying homer in Game 2.
Milwaukee fans in the crowd of 40,514, many waving yellow towels and some
wearing cheeseheads, brought a Badger State feel to Tropicana Field.
Tampa Bay returned to its white home jerseys, a day after playing in Devil Rays
throwbacks.
Simpson hit an RBI double off starter Dustin May in the second, but Milwaukee
tied the score in the fourth against Griffin Jax when Frelick hit a two-out
single and came around on Pratt's double.
Caminero singled leading off the bottom half to chase May and advanced on a
groundout. DeLuca hit a hard grounder to Hamilton and Caminero twisted toward
the grass to avoid the third baseman's tag, then came home when Hamilton
bounced his throw past Bauers for an error.
Hamilton, Milwaukee's No. 9 hitter, drove an 0-2 fastball at the letters from
Jax into the right-field seats for his second home run of the postseason ---
half his regular-season total and just his second since June 6.
___
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