ST.PETERSBURG, Fla.
— 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 rookie left-hander 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, batted for Victor Mesa Jr.
and hit a chopper over first baseman Jake Bauers into right field."That was totally what I told him to do," Rays manager Kevin Cash said, drawing laughs."Pretty big swing.I've got to go back and recall everything that took place."Tampa Bay became the fourth team in World Series history to avoid elimination with an extra-inning comeback, according to OptaSTATS.
The first three all went on to win the championship (1912 Red Sox, 1986 Mets, 2011 Cardinals)."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.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 th...