The Tampa Bay Rays are not done. Ben Williamson’s walk-off RBI single in extra innings Tuesday night kept the season alive and avoided a sweep, and now the World Series shifts to a decisive Game 5 Wednesday at Tropicana Field. The Rays still trail 3-0 in the series, but for the first time in this Fall Classic, they’ve got momentum.
The pitching matchup is as dramatic as it gets. Drew Rasmussen gets the ball on short rest after starting Game 2 in Milwaukee, and he’ll face Brewers ace Jacob Mizorowski, the frontrunner for the National League Cy Young. If the Rays can control the strike zone and get Mizorowski out of the game by the fifth, as 1981 World Series champion Tom Niedenfuhrer suggested, the Brewers bullpen could be vulnerable after a heavy workload Tuesday.
The history stakes are real. Only the 2004 Red Sox have erased an 0-3 postseason deficit, and no team has ever done it in the World Series. A win Wednesday sends the series back to Milwaukee for Game 6, with a potential Game 7 to follow. Fans from Sarasota and Bradenton are already crossing the Skyway for the game, and downtown St. Pete is bracing for a crowd. Where are you watching tonight?
