The Tampa Bay Rays are alive.
The Rays saved their season and forced the World Series to a fifth game with a thrilling 4-3 extra-inning win over the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 4 at Tropicana Field.
Pinch-hitter Ben Williamson extended the series with a bases-loaded walk-off single in the bottom of the 12th off reliever Shane Drohan. Milwaukee had taken the lead in the top of the inning on Cooper Pratt's homer before the Rays mounted their shocking rally.
"It's what you dream of growing up. You play Wiffle ball in the backyard with your friends and you're dreaming of hitting a walk-off ball in the World Series," Williamson said. "The way the team fought tonight to get me into that situation and to have runners on, and just to have that moment for me was huge."
Junior Caminero began Tampa Bay's comeback when he reached on Joey Ortiz's throwing error to open the bottom of the 12th. Caminero came up limping after reaching first, but remained in the game. He was then able to reach third on Liam Hicks' single before being lifted for a pinch runner. The star slugger was noticeably limping as he left the field.
Caminero said after the game that he's fine.
Jonny DeLuca then tied the game with an RBI single. Chandler Simpson failed to drop down a sacrifice bunt, but then ripped a line-drive hit - his third of the game - to load the bases. That brought up Williamson in Victor Mesa Jr.'s spot, and he roped the first pitch into right field for the win.
"I'm glad we had some things go our way," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "We had some things not go our way. We haven't made the most of some opportunities. But tonight it seemed like going down 3-2 right there in the 12th that nobody came in hanging their heads."
Williamson's hit was the first walk-off winner for a team facing elimination in the World Series since the Cardinals' David Freese in 2011's classic Game 6, according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com. The last team to record a walk-off World Series win while facing a sweep was the 1910 Chicago Cubs.
"That was totally what I told him to do," Cash joked of Williamson's walk-off hit. "Good listening."
The Rays now trail 3-1 in the series. A win Wednesday would force the series back to Milwaukee, but they still have a tall task ahead of them. The 2004 Boston Red Sox are the only team in MLB history to win a playoff series after trailing 3-0. No team has accomplished the feat in the World Series.
"We're dangerous," Rays right-hander Nick Martinez - who was supposed to start Game 5 but instead tossed two scoreless innings of relief Wednesday - said, according to Rays reporter Ryan Bass. "We have our backs against the wall ... we know what we have to do. We can win four in a row. This team is capable of doing that."
This was only the Brewers' second loss of the 2026 playoffs.
"I think the guys understand it's going to be hard," Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. "You're playing the best team in the American League. They proved it all year long, and they came up big today. It's going to be hard.
"When you're achieving something like this, it's going to have its adversity. We had some things go our way yesterday. They had some things go their way today. That's the way it is. You just live with it, and if you're a competitor, you wake up tomorrow morning and come ready to play."
Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio went 2-for-6 in the loss to continue his dominant offensive series. The 22-year-old now has 10 hits in the series, tying Babe Ruth's record from 1928 for the most in the first four games of a World Series, per Langs. Pratt, who appeared to have hit the series-winning homer before the Rays' rally, went 4-for-5 with two RBIs in the loss.
Milwaukee will turn to ace Jacob Misiorowski in Game 5 as it looks to close out the series. The Rays have yet to announce a starter.
