Rays Rally in the 12th to Beat Brewers and Force World Series Game 5

The Milwaukee Brewers were three outs from their first championship on Tuesday night. Instead, the Tampa Bay Rays scored in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the 12th inning at St. Petersburg, Fla., winning Game 4 of the World Series, 4-3, and sending the series to a Game 5.

Milwaukee's Cooper Pratt had seemingly put his team on the verge of a title. Leading off the top of the 12th, he hit a home run to give the Brewers the lead. At 22, he became the first player that age to collect four hits in a potential World Series clincher. "That was probably one of the coolest swings of my life," Pratt said, "but it's over."

The Rays answered immediately. Brewers third baseman Joey Ortiz made an errant throw on Junior Caminero's grounder to start the bottom of the inning, putting the tying run aboard. Rookie Shane Drohan, who had not pitched in 12 days, was called in from the bullpen.

Drohan's first batter, Liam Hicks, hit a hard grounder to the left side that would have been a double play had Pratt not been shaded closer to second base against the left-handed hitter. The ball went through, putting runners on the corners with none out. Jonny DeLuca then lined a single up the middle to tie the score, and Chandler Simpson did the same to load the bases.

Pinch hitter Ben Williamson ended it with a chopper hit so hard it sailed over the head of first baseman Jake Bauers and landed in the outfield grass. It was only the second loss of the month for Milwaukee, and its first postseason defeat in 21 days. "I'm human," Drohan said. "I know what I was walking into, and I just didn't get the job done."

Luck did not favor the Brewers. They produced 12 of the night's 13 hardest-hit balls, and nine of them exceeded 102 mph but went for outs. Ortiz took responsibility for the throwing error, saying, "I should make that play every f, ing time."

The loss ended some notable streaks. Milwaukee had won 10 of its first 11 games this October and tied a record with eight consecutive victories. The Brewers had also won 18 straight games in which they led at any point, dating to Sept. 17, tied for the longest single-season streak in franchise history, according to ESPN Research.

Still, the Brewers insisted the setback would not define them. "This stuff is not supposed to be easy," captain Christian Yelich said. "It's supposed to test you." Drohan pointed to the team's season-long résumé: "We've been the best team in baseball all year."

Manager Pat Murphy acknowledged the challenge ahead as Milwaukee pursues its first title. "It's going to be hard," he said. "When you're achieving something like this, it's going to have its adversity."