The Tampa Bay Rays avoided elimination in the World Series on Tuesday night, defeating the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 in 12 innings in Game 4 at Tropicana Field. The walk-off victory trimmed Milwaukee’s series lead to 3-1 as Tampa Bay fought off a potential sweep.
Bullpen Deliverance Keeps Rays Alive
Facing an absolute must-win situation, Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash turned to key pitchers early out of the bullpen to preserve the victory. All-Star starter Nick Martinez, who threw 73 pitches over five innings in Game 1 and was scheduled to start Game 5, delivered two scoreless innings in relief. Closer Bryan Baker also threw two scoreless frames, despite not pitching more than a single inning in an outing since Aug. 17.
According to CBS Sports, Tampa Bay relievers covered eight of the 12 innings while allowing just one run on four hits. The performance marked a strong turnaround for a unit that had struggled earlier in the postseason. Ian Seymour allowed a go-ahead home run in the top of the 12th inning, but he limited further damage, allowing Tampa Bay to rally and win in the bottom half of the frame. Relievers Kevin Kelly, Tyler Wells, and Cam Booser each contributed scoreless relief appearances.
Cash praised the unexpected length provided by his pitching staff following the victory.
“I can’t say enough about Nick Martinez and the contributions he’s made all season long. Then coming in on short rest and giving us two really solid innings,” Cash said after the game. “Also Bryan Baker, those of you that follow us know that we generally keep Bake to one inning. We knew we have to win this game. His two innings were very helpful.”
Martinez, who has compiled 160 regular-season starts, 151 relief appearances, and four seasons in Japan throughout his career, expressed confidence in his team’s ability to come back.
“Gritty. Gritty. We’re dangerous,” Martinez said after the game. “We have our backs against the wall…we know what we have to do. We can win four in a row. This team is capable of doing that.”
Pitching Uncertainty Ahead of Game 5
Despite staying alive, Tampa Bay faces a challenging pitching situation heading into Game 5. While the Brewers have scheduled Jacob Misiorowski to start, the Rays have not confirmed their starting pitcher after utilizing several primary options.
Martinez threw 33 pitches in Game 4, making an immediate start on zero days of rest unlikely. Drew Rasmussen remains an option on short rest, though his career figures under those conditions include five runs allowed over seven innings across four starts. With Freddy Peralta having pitched Game 3 and Griffin Jax starting Game 4, Tampa Bay may need to rely heavily on another bullpen effort.
“We’re going to get together after this session and sit down and talk about pitching. Going to check who’s available. I’m going to guess most guys are going to say they’re capable of an inning or more given it’s Game 5 of the World Series, but nothing has been decided yet,” Cash said.
