Rays force World Series Game 5

The Tampa Bay Rays forced a World Series Game 5 on Tuesday night after a four-run rally in the 12th inning of a 4-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers at Tropicana Field. The win snapped Milwaukee's eight-game winning streak and kept the Rays alive in a series where they trail 3-0.

Milwaukee entered the bottom of the 12th with a 3-2 lead. Rookie Cooper Pratt had hit a tiebreaking home run off Ian Seymour in the top of the 12th to give the Brewers a potential series-clinching lead. The Brewers' bullpen had held the Rays scoreless for seven consecutive innings prior to the final frame.

Junior Camerino led off the bottom half with a ground ball to third. Joey Ortiz bobbled the throw, and the ball glanced off the mitt of first baseman Jake Bauers for an error. Camerino appeared to injure his left foot but remained at the plate. Brewers manager Pat Murphy replaced starter Dustin May with rookie left-hander Shane Drohan, who had not pitched since the National League Championship Series.

Liam Hicks, Jonny DeLuca, Chandler Simpson, and pinch-hitter Ben Williamson each recorded a single in the subsequent 15 pitches against Drohan. The sequence tied the game at 3 and loaded the bases with two outs. Williamson, who had hit .067 in the postseason, chipped a ball up the middle. The ball bounced high over Bauers, allowing the runner from second, Nick Fortes, to score the winning run.

The Rays became the fourth team in World Series history to avoid elimination with an extra-inning comeback, joining the 1912 Boston Red Sox, 1986 New York Mets, and 2011 St. Louis Cardinals. According to OptaSTATS, all three previous teams went on to win their respective championships. The Rays are the fifth of 26 teams to win Game 4 after falling behind 3-0 in the World Series.

Game 5 is scheduled for Wednesday night at Tropicana Field. Brewers manager Pat Murphy said he plans to start Jacob Misiorowski, the National League Cy Young Award favorite. Rays manager Kevin Cash said he had not decided on a starter. The crowd of 40,514 included many Milwaukee fans, some wearing cheeseheads and waving yellow towels.

Camerino was replaced at third base by pinch-runner Cedric Mullins and later hobbled off the field with an ailing left foot. Cash said Camerino will play in Game 5. "He'll play tomorrow on one leg. I'll make sure of it," Cash said. The game lasted 4 hours and 20 minutes, ending at 12:28 a.m.

Brewers captain Christian Yelich said the team would continue to fight. "Sometimes the game tests you. Sometimes the game makes you want to dig deep," Yelich said. "It's all part of the journey, all part of the experience, and that's part of our story." Rays reliever Ben Williamson, who hit the winning single, called the moment a dream come true for any player.