Rays rally to beat Brewers 4-3 in Game 4, forcing Game 5 after 3-0 World Series deficit

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays kept their season alive with a 4-3, 12-inning win over the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 4 of the 2026 World Series at Tropicana Field on Tuesday night, guaranteeing at least one more championship game. The result also forced Game 5 after the Rays entered the contest trailing the Brewers three games to none, a rare feat in World Series history.

With the victory, the Rays became the fifth team to force a Game 5 in the World Series after falling behind 3-0, joining the 2024 Yankees, the 1970 Reds, the 1937 Giants and the 1910 Cubs. In those earlier cases, none of the first four teams managed to force a Game 6, underscoring the significance of Tampa Bay’s first step in what is now an extended series. In the broader postseason context, the Rays are the 44th team to fall behind 3-0 in any best-of-seven series, and they are the 11th of those clubs to avoid a sweep.

Tampa Bay’s win did not come in ordinary fashion. The Rays recorded a walk-off victory in the 12th inning, marking the 17th walk-off win by a team facing elimination in World Series history. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last time a team won on a walk-off while facing elimination in the World Series was the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals, who beat the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 6 on the same date, Oct. 27. The only other team to walk off while facing a World Series sweep was the 1910 Cubs, and of the 17 such elimination-walk-offs, 14 came in extra innings, including four victories in 12 innings.

The Rays’ escape from elimination arrives during a World Series streak that has continued uninterrupted since 2012. The source notes there has not been a sweep in the World Series since the Giants swept the Tigers in 2012, and that the current run of 14 consecutive World Series without a sweep is the longest in MLB history.

Milwaukee’s young stars provided the biggest spark for the Brewers throughout Game 4. Cooper Pratt delivered a key moment with a tiebreaking home run in the 12th inning, a milestone that the Elias Sports Bureau ties to World Series extra-inning history: it was the 29th home run in extra innings in World Series history and the first by a rookie. The homer was also described as the latest by innings in a potential World Series clincher.

Pratt’s evening extended beyond the walk-off frame. He finished with four hits, becoming the first rookie to reach four hits in a potential World Series clincher. The source also states that Pratt’s performance earned a separate historical distinction connected to Jackson Chourio. Chourio, at 22 years and 229 days, became the youngest player with a four-hit World Series game since Joe Garagiola in 1946, and then, the following day, Pratt, at 22 years and 70 days, took that youngest-four-hit distinction for himself.

Chourio continued to build momentum across the series as well. The source reports that he became the 10th player to collect multiple hits in each of the first four games of a World Series and only the second to do so in the past 40 years, joining 2000 Todd Zeile. At age 22, Chourio is the youngest to achieve the feat. His 10 hits through the first four games of this World Series are tied for the most in the first four games of a World Series, matching the total Babe Ruth posted in 1928.

The two-hit output in Game 4 also moved Chourio further along in career postseason production. The source says the hits brought him to 31 postseason hits in 24 games, surpassing Andruw Jones’ mark of 30 hits in 45 games for the most postseason hits before turning 23, according to the figures referenced in the story.

On the pitching side, the Brewers’ relief unit continued to deliver a steady, low-run profile highlighted by Aaron Ashby. Ashby added 2 1/3 scoreless innings in Game 4, and the source notes he is now up to 18 consecutive scoreless frames within a postseason by a reliever, passing Andrew Miller’s 16-inning streak from 2016. The record described also emphasizes the effectiveness across multiple outings: Ashby is listed as the only pitcher in postseason history to record at least five outs in six or more consecutive appearances without allowing a run, and the source reports that he has now done it in seven straight appearances.