Rays steal Game 4 from Brewers in extras to stay alive in World Series
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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Ben Williamson was biding his time for hours Tuesday night, waiting for his chance to impact Game 4 of the World Series as his Tampa Bay Rays fought to keep their season alive against the Milwaukee Brewers .
The agonizing innings passed, tension escalating with each out recorded. The opportunity didn't arise until, finally, Rays manager Kevin Cash told Williamson it was his opportunity shortly after midnight in Tampa Bay's 4-3 win .
"Jokingly, in my head I was thinking, 'Yeah, I've been ready to hit since the fourth or fifth inning,'" Williamson said.
Williamson, with all of one postseason hit on his résumé, was thrust into the most important at-bat of his baseball life: bases loaded with no outs in the 12th inning with the score tied and his club's season on the line.
Jonny DeLuca had delivered the tying RBI single moments earlier to give the Rays their first run since the fourth inning. Williamson was ready then and he was ready eight innings later. Pinch hitting for Victor Mesa Jr. , Williamson pounced on the first pitch from left-hander Shane Drohan , a 96 mph sinker on the outside corner that he bounced into the ground at the start of the first-base line a few feet in front of him. Chalk kicked up and the ball ricocheted off the hard surface of the infield, landing in shallow right field to score Nick Fortes from third base and supply the Rays' season another dose of oxygen with a walk-off single.
Minutes after Milwaukee had taken the lead on Cooper Pratt 's home run in the top of the frame, moving the Brewers within three outs of their first championship in franchise history, the Rays were celebrating their first World Series win at Tropicana Field since 2008. It was the first time a team managed a World Series walk-off win when facing elimination since the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals . Game 5 is Wednesday night.
"Sometimes you just got to see one through," Rays All-Star starter Nick Martinez said. "We can win four in a row. This team is capable of doing that."
Martínez was one of the 21 players -- and seven pitchers -- the Rays used Tuesday. Cash emptied his bench and aggressively deployed his best available pitchers to outlast a Brewers club that had blown them out 10-1 in Game 3.
Not every substitution was by design. Star third baseman Junior Caminero aggravated a left foot injury when he ran out a ground ball that ignited the Rays' 12th-inning rally thanks to Brewers third baseman Joey Ortiz 's errant throw. Caminero was clearly hobbled but initially stayed in the game, even sprinting from first to third when Liam Hicks followed him with a single to left field. Cash then had Cedric Mullins pinch run for him as Caminero limped off the field.
Caminero said he was "good" and "100%" is going to play in Game 5.
"It's been like that for about three months now," Caminero said in Spanish.
Caminero didn't reveal the extent of his injury but indicated it didn't matter.
"If my foot is broken," Caminero said, "I'll play tomorrow."
Griffin Jax , the Rays' No. 4 starter, got the start opposite a bullpen game for Milwaukee with Martinez, Tampa Bay's Game 1 starter, looming in the bullpen. Ideally, Martinez would have watched the game from the Rays' dugout preparing to start Game 5. But the Rays needed to get to Game 5 first and decided Martinez needed to help them get there, telling him to be ready to pitch out of the bullpen. He was summoned in the sixth inning and tossed two scoreless frames before All-Star closer Bryan Baker logged two innings in a game for the first time in 2026.
"It's pretty special just to be a part of it," Baker said. "There's 26 guys that at some point or another throughout the year have come through in a big spot and helped us win a game. Tonight was no different. Getting to see like Benny get to finish off the game get a win for us in the World Series is pretty special."
The battle of the bullpens continued into the 12th inning when Cash called on left-hander Ian Seymour with the score tied at 2. Five pitches later, Pratt swatted a changeup over the middle to the seats in left field for his fourth hit of the game. The Brewers spilled out of their dugout, celebrating what would have been the biggest hit in franchise history with three more outs.
But Ortiz's error finally afforded the Rays, three outs from elimination, the lifeline they needed to keep their championship hopes afloat. Their pitching plans for Game 5 are unclear. Drew Rasmussen , Tampa Bay's Game 2 starter and presumptive Game 6 starter, said he expects to be available.
It will be a challenging puzzle for the Rays to figure out. What matters is they have the opportunity.
"You don't come down from this high," Martinez said. "You keep going. You keep building off it and keep riding it every pitch."