ST. PETERSBURG — Ben Williamson walked off the first pitch he saw from rookie Shane Drohan into right field in the 12th inning Tuesday night at Tropicana Field, giving the Tampa Bay Rays a World Series victory over the Milwaukee Brewers and staving off elimination — though the Rays remain one loss from ending their season, trailing the series 3-1.
The rally capped a dramatic sequence in which Junior Caminero reached on a throwing error by third baseman Joey Ortiz, catcher Liam Hicks singled to left to advance Caminero to third, and Jonny DeLuca followed with a single to center that scored pinch-runner Cedric Mullins with the tying run. Chandler Simpson then singled to load the bases before Williamson, pinch-hitting for Victor Mesa Jr., delivered the winner.
“Our season was on the line. It could’ve possibly been the last game for everybody,” Simpson said. “So I’m glad [the fans] stuck with us.”
The win is Tampa Bay’s first in the Fall Classic since Game 4 of the 2020 World Series. The Rays entered Tuesday having been outscored 10-1 in Monday’s Game 3, and designated hitter Yandy Díaz set the tone before first pitch. “It’s going to be hard to come back from this, but it’s not impossible,” Díaz said.
Simpson, dropped to sixth in the order by manager Kevin Cash, provided the early momentum with a second-inning double down the right-field line off Dustin May that scored DeLuca from first. It was Tampa Bay’s first lead since Game 2 in Milwaukee. The Rays carried a 55-26 home record into the game, tied with Milwaukee for the best in the majors, and teams that score first are 26-13 this postseason.
DeLuca was central to the game well before the 12th, making a diving catch in the fourth inning to rob William Contreras of a hit, and later scoring on an errant throw by David Hamilton after a review confirmed Hamilton had not applied a tag on Caminero. “There’s so much belief in this clubhouse,” DeLuca said. “To be able to go in there and … be able to come back like that is obviously a special win and a pretty cool win.”
Closer Bryan Baker, who led the majors with 41 regular-season saves, made his first World Series appearance and worked a breezy eight-pitch eighth inning before navigating a tense ninth. “We were a little sloppy those first three games in a lot of different ways, and we definitely cleaned that up a little bit tonight,” Baker said. “There’s still some there, but we held it together close enough. We were able to claw back at the end and still pull out a win.”
Hicks acknowledged the win buys only a moment’s relief. “I think it lets us show that we’re not out of any game,” he said. “We can breathe a little bit after getting one win, but it’s going to take all of us to get this going and keep winning games.”
History offers little comfort for Tampa Bay. Of the 25 teams that have fallen behind 3-0 in a best-of-seven World Series, none has advanced to a Game 6 — only the 1910 Cubs, 1937 Giants, 1970 Reds and 2024 Yankees even forced a Game 5. “We’re still facing elimination,” Simpson said. “We’re still down three [wins], so that’s what we know. I’m glad we got to be able to survive another day.”
Game 5 is scheduled for Wednesday at Tropicana Field, with the Rays needing three consecutive wins to claim the championship.