Brewers vs. Rays: Ben Williamson's 12th-Inning Walk-Off Wins World Series Game 4 and Keeps Tampa Bay Alive

Cooper Pratt's home run in the top of the 12th had thousands of Brewers fans at Tropicana Field on their feet. Three outs. Three outs from a sweep, from a parade, from the first World Series title in franchise history.

The Rays needed one bad hop to start believing and one good hop to finish. They got both. Joey Ortiz bounced a throw that put Junior Caminero aboard, four straight singles followed off rookie Shane Drohan, and pinch-hitter Ben Williamson's chopper over the first baseman's head sent Nick Fortes home as Tampa Bay stunned Milwaukee 4-3 on Tuesday night to force a Game 5. The Brewers still lead the World Series 3-1, but this one is going to sting for a while.

Eleven Innings of Inches

Before the madness came the grind. Chandler Simpson put Tampa Bay ahead in the second with an RBI double off Dustin May that scored Jonny DeLuca. Milwaukee pulled even in the fourth against Griffin Jax: a two-out Sal Frelick single, then a Pratt double to left that brought him all the way around.

The Rays went back in front in the bottom half, with an assist from Milwaukee's infield. Caminero's leadoff single chased May. After a groundout moved him up, DeLuca smoked a ball to third, Caminero dodged David Hamilton's tag attempt, and Hamilton's errant throw got away from first baseman Jake Bauers. Caminero came all the way home, and it was 2-1.

Hamilton made amends one inning later. Milwaukee's No. 9 hitter turned on an 0-2 fastball from Jax and sent it 391 feet to right-center to tie it 2-2. It was his second homer of the postseason, which, per the Associated Press, is half his regular-season total.

Then came six straight scoreless innings. Milwaukee's relievers ran their run of zeros to seven innings, with Aaron Ashby getting seven of the outs, while Kevin Kelly, Nick Martinez, Bryan Baker and Tyler Wells matched them for Tampa Bay. In center, DeLuca came up with highlight grabs against Christian Yelich (third inning) and William Contreras (fourth). The game kept going, and going, and going, like the Energizer Bunny in cleats.

The 12th, Part One: Pratt's Moment

Ian Seymour took over for Cam Booser in the top of the 12th, and Pratt led off. On a 2-2 pitch, the 22-year-old rookie launched a breaking ball 396 feet into the left-center seats for a 3-2 lead, becoming the first rookie to hit an extra-inning home run in a World Series. The Brewers sprinted out of the dugout like the trophy was already being wheeled out.

"That was probably one of the coolest swings of my life," Pratt said. "But it's over."

Seymour kept it from getting worse. After Jackson Chourio doubled with two outs, he got Bauers, the NLCS MVP, to pop out. "I'm pitching for the season there," Seymour said.

The Turning Point: Ortiz's Throw

Caminero opened the bottom of the 12th with a grounder to third against Antonio Senzatela, and the Milwaukee faithful began to roar. Then Ortiz's throw arrived on a hop, Bauers could not squeeze it, and the whole building changed temperature.

"I've got to make that play," Ortiz said. "Just no excuse about it."

The 12th, Part Two: Singles, Singles, Singles

Manager Pat Murphy went to Drohan, a 27-year-old lefty whose last outing had been a one-inning start back on Oct. 15, in Game 4 of the NLCS. Liam Hicks, batting left-handed, saw Pratt shaded toward second and rolled a grounder right where the shortstop would normally be standing. It squirted into left, and Caminero dove headfirst into third.

"For just regular D, that's right at Coop," Drohan said.

Cedric Mullins ran for Caminero, who appeared to hurt his left foot. DeLuca's grounder skipped past Drohan's desperate behind-the-back reach and into center field, and Mullins scored the tying run. With Fortes now running for Hicks, Simpson flirted with a bunt twice, then swung away and lined a single to center. Bases loaded, nobody out.

Milwaukee brought Frelick in from the outfield for a five-man infield. Williamson, who had been 1 for 15 this postseason, batted for Victor Mesa Jr. Pitch No. 367 of the night produced the ugliest beautiful hit of the postseason: a chopper that nicked the chalk just up the first-base line and hopped over Bauers' head into right. Fortes raced home, Walking on Sunshine blasted through the Trop, and the Rays were alive.

"That was totally what I told him to do," Rays manager Kevin Cash said, drawing laughs.

Hicks, DeLuca, Simpson and Williamson strung those four singles together in a 15-pitch span. Drohan was charged with four hits and a run without getting an out.

"Definitely hard. I'm human," Drohan said. "I knew what I was walking into. I just didn't do the job there."

Who Stood Out

Cooper Pratt went 4 for 5 with the homer, a double and two RBIs. He was one inning from a title-clinching hero turn.

Chandler Simpson went 3 for 5 with an RBI and kept the 12th alive by loading the bases.

Aaron Ashby threw 2 1/3 hitless innings with three strikeouts, the backbone of a Milwaukee bullpen that held firm for seven innings.

Jonny DeLuca tied the game in the 12th after robbing two Brewers with his glove earlier.

Stats That Matter

• 4th: Per OptaSTATS, only three teams before Tampa Bay had dodged World Series elimination by rallying in extra innings, most recently the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals, with the 1986 New York Mets and 1912 Boston Red Sox before them. Each of them won the title.
• 1991: The last World Series walk-off pinch hit in extra innings before this one was Gene Larkin's single that won Game 7 for Minnesota.
• 5 of 26: Teams that fell behind 3-0 in a World Series and won Game 4. The previous four all lost Game 5.
• 4 hours, 20 minutes: Game time. It ended at 12:28 a.m.
• 10 for 20: Chourio's Series line after a single and a double.

What It Means

The Brewers lead 3-1, and their eight-game winning streak is over. Gone, too, is Milwaukee's shot at becoming just the second club to sweep an LCS and the World Series. Milwaukee hands the ball to Jacob Misiorowski, the NL Cy Young Award favorite, for Game 5 on Wednesday night at the Trop. Cash had not picked his starter, and Caminero insisted he will play.

"He'll play tomorrow on one leg. I'll make sure of it," Cash said.

Closing Take

Milwaukee is still one win away. The difference is that the Rays now believe. Seymour, who served up Pratt's homer and then got to celebrate anyway, had the line of the night.

"We've got one more day," he said. "Now let's make it two more days."

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Postgame quotes as reported by the Associated Press and MLB.com.