Rays Relievers Force World Series Game 5 With 12-Inning Win

The Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 in 12 innings on Tuesday night at Tropicana Field. The walk-off victory prevented a series sweep and narrowed the Brewers' World Series lead to 3-1.

With the series at 0-3, Rays manager Kevin Cash utilized his entire pitching staff. Relievers covered eight of the twelve innings, allowing just one run on four hits. This marked a sharp improvement for a group that had previously struggled in the American League Championship Series and the first three World Series games.

Nick Martinez, originally scheduled to start Game 5, pitched out of the bullpen. He recorded six outs on 33 pitches. Martinez has made 160 career starts and 151 relief appearances. He also spent four seasons pitching in Japan and saved eight games in a single regular season year. In Game 1, he started and threw 73 pitches over five innings.

"Gritty. Gritty. We're dangerous," Martinez said. "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."

Bryan Baker, the closer, worked two scoreless innings. Baker has dealt with velocity issues and had not pitched more than one inning since August 17. Kevin Kelly, Tyler Wells, and Cam Booser also pitched without allowing runs. Ian Seymour allowed a go-ahead home run in the top of the 12th, but the Rays scored in the bottom half to take the win.

Cash noted that the staff will meet to determine the Game 5 plan. He said nothing is decided yet. Milwaukee will start Jacob Misiorowski. Tampa Bay faces a difficult choice. Martinez would have to start on no rest. Drew Rasmussen has allowed five runs in seven innings across four career starts on short rest. Freddy Peralta pitched Game 3, and Griffin Jax started Game 4. A bullpen game appears likely.

The Rays' clubhouse mood was upbeat after the win, a first for the series. The team faces another elimination game when it returns to the mound for Game 5.