ST. PETERSBURG — The Tampa Bay Rays burned through seven pitchers in a 4-hour, 20-minute World Series marathon to avoid elimination Wednesday, but now face a depleted bullpen and presumed National League Cy Young Award winner Jacob Misiorowski in a must-win Game 5 later that same night at Tropicana Field.
The Rays, still trailing the Milwaukee Brewers 3-1 in the series, secured the Game 4 win just before 12:30 a.m. ET when a Williamson high chopper into right field brought home Nick Fortes with the winning run in the 12th inning. Manager Kevin Cash did not name a starting pitcher for Game 5 following the victory.
Game 1 starter Nick Martinez, the most likely candidate to start Game 5 before Tuesday’s game began, instead entered in the sixth inning and threw two scoreless frames to bridge the gap to closer Bryan Baker. “Our clubhouse leader going out and doing leader-type things,” Baker said of Martinez’s effort. “I couldn’t be happier for him. That was a huge spot for us, man. He provides so much stability for us, and he’s had so much experience out of the bullpen as well, so it felt like it was Game 4 of the World Series, but it didn’t really seem like it for him.”
Baker, making his first appearance of the Fall Classic, threw 21 pitches over two scoreless innings in the eighth — his first six-out outing since July 9, 2024, as a member of the Baltimore Orioles. “You get out in front of these fans, a packed-out Trop, and the adrenaline kind of takes over,” Baker said. “So I’m feeling really good right now.” Baker said he would be available in any scenario for Game 5, and lefty Cam Booser also indicated availability despite pitching in a second consecutive game — Booser had allowed four runs and recorded no outs during Tampa Bay’s 10-1 Game 3 loss before redeeming himself with a strikeout to end the 11th inning.
Pitcher Seymour, another possible Game 5 option, surrendered his fourth homer in nine postseason innings — a solo shot to Cooper Pratt — in the 12th inning before the Rays rallied with all five batters reaching base to win the frame. Asked whether he had enough left to contribute again Wednesday, Seymour was blunt: “That’s never a question.”
Game 4 starter Griffin Jax framed the Rays’ long-shot position in statistical terms. “No one expected us to get here,” Jax said. “We had a 1% chance, according to a lot of writers, to make it to the World Series, and we had a 5% chance going into tonight to win the World Series. So by those odds, we had a five-times better chance to win the World Series, so I like our chances.”
Game 5 is scheduled for Wednesday evening at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, with Cash expected to name a starter before first pitch.