Rays Stay Alive in World Series, Brewers Turn to Misiorowski in Game 5

The Tampa Bay Rays are still playing. A walk-off single by Ben Williamson in the 12th inning of Game 4 completed a dramatic comeback and kept the Milwaukee Brewers from clinching their first World Series championship, at least for one more night.

Milwaukee still holds a 3-1 series lead heading into Game 5 on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET in Tampa Bay. The Brewers will have a second chance to close out the title, while the Rays will try to extend the series and send it back to Milwaukee.

Game 4 was a grinder. Fifteen pitchers took the mound over 23 innings and four hours, 20 minutes, throwing 367 pitches to face 90 batters. Both managers now have to sort out depleted pitching staffs. Brewers manager Pat Murphy said, "We drained a lot of pitching, as they did, and that's part of playing a tight ballgame."

Murphy confirmed that Jacob Misiorowski will start Game 5 on four days' rest. The right-hander, the presumptive NL Cy Young Award winner, started Game 1 on Oct. 23 and held the Rays to one run over five innings, though he was pulled after only 78 pitches. During the regular season he made four of his 30 starts on four days' rest and went 1-1 with a 1.64 ERA, striking out 34 and walking three over 22 innings.

His postseason workloads have been modest. Misiorowski threw 88 pitches over four innings against the Padres in the NLDS and 94 pitches over 4⅓ innings against the Dodgers in the NLCS. Murphy will likely need four or five innings from his bullpen again. Trevor Megill faced one batter and threw five pitches in Game 4, and Murphy answered "Yes" when asked if he could have gotten more from him. Aaron Ashby retired all seven batters he faced over 2⅓ innings on 31 pitches, and Abner Uribe retired six straight over two innings on 19 pitches. Neither pitched in Game 3, so both should be available.

The Rays face a tougher situation. Bryan Baker, Kevin Kelly and Cam Booser all pitched in Game 4 without laboring and should be usable. But manager Kevin Cash said no decision had been made on a starter. One option is Game 2 starter Drew Rasmussen on short rest, after he threw 89 pitches over 3⅔ innings. Game 1 starter Nick Martinez was used out of the bullpen in Game 4, throwing 33 pitches over two innings, which complicates the plan further. A bullpen game, perhaps with Rasmussen in a bulk role, appears likely.

On the field, the Brewers know they need to clean things up. Their infielders have committed eight errors this postseason, including two in Game 4 on errant throws from third base that led to runs. Milwaukee hitters also produced 12 of the 13 hardest-hit balls in that game but had little to show for it.

For Tampa Bay, the task is to make Misiorowski work and erase the pitching edge Milwaukee holds on paper. Lineups for both teams had not been announced.