Jackson Chourio matched a Babe Ruth record on Tuesday night, but the Milwaukee Brewers will have to wait for their first World Series title. The Tampa Bay Rays won Game 4 by 4-3 in 12 innings at Tropicana Field and cut the series to 3-1.
The game took 4 hours and 20 minutes, and it ended with a pinch-hitter’s bouncing single into right field.
Chourio joins Babe Ruth
The 22-year-old outfielder had two more hits in Game 4. The second was a two-out double in the 12th inning against Rays reliever Ian Seymour.
That gave Chourio 10 hits in the first four games of this World Series. Only one other player has ever had that many: Babe Ruth, in 1928. Chourio is also the youngest player to get at least two hits in each of the first four games of a World Series.
He now has 31 hits in this postseason. Nobody has had more playoff hits in total before turning 23.
A rookie home run, then a Rays comeback
The score was 2-2 from the fifth inning to the 11th. In the top of the 12th, Brewers rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt led off with a home run to left-center. Milwaukee were three outs from the title.
“That was probably one of the coolest swings of my life,” Pratt said after the game. “But it’s over.”
The Rays came back at once. Junior Caminero reached base on a throwing error. Liam Hicks singled, and a ground ball from Jonny DeLuca brought in the tying run. Chandler Simpson singled to load the bases, and pinch-hitter Ben Williamson chopped the ball into right field to win it.
“It’s what you dream of growing up,” Williamson told reporters.
History on both sides
Tampa Bay are only the fifth team to force a Game 5 after falling 0-3 behind in a World Series. It was also the 17th walk-off win in World Series history by a team facing elimination, and the first since 2011.
For Milwaukee, reliever Aaron Ashby threw 2 1/3 more scoreless innings. His run of 18 straight scoreless innings is now the longest by a reliever in a single postseason.
Brewers captain Christian Yelich stayed calm. “If you want to win a championship, you’re supposed to survive some hard things,” he said.
Game 5 is on Wednesday night in St. Petersburg. Jacob Misiorowski is set to start for Milwaukee, with Drew Rasmussen for Tampa Bay.
Our take
The Brewers are still in control. They need one win from three games, and their young core keeps delivering. Chourio is playing like a star on the biggest stage, and Pratt showed real nerve in the 12th.
But the defence let them down at the worst moment. Two errors helped the Rays score, and a team this close to a title cannot give away outs like that.
Will Milwaukee finish the job in Game 5, or are the Rays starting something special? Tell us in the comments.
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Jackson Chourio by IanStone20165 (CC BY 4.0), Jackson Chourio by Sewageboy (CC BY-SA 4.0), Tropicana Field by Quintin Soloviev (CC BY 4.0), Tropicana Field by Tampabay721 (CC BY-SA 3.0).