
If only Joey Ortiz hadn't underthrown first base.
In the bottom of the 12th inning of Game 4 of the World Series on Tuesday, the Milwaukee Brewers shortstop bounced a ground ball. First baseman Jake Bauers failed to scoop it up, allowing Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero to reach first base.
At first, Ortiz's throwing error didn't seem like a huge deal. The Brewers were leading 3-2 and needed just three more outs to clinch their first World Series title in franchise history. Little did they know that marked the beginning of their collapse.
Everything that could've gone wrong for the Brewers went wrong after Ortiz's throwing error.
Joey Ortiz bounces a throw that Jake Bauers couldn't scoop to begin the bottom of the 12th inning pic.twitter.com/jwjqSaBMw9
— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) October 28, 2026
Tampa Bay catcher Liam Hicks singled to left field, sending Caminero to third. Right fielder Jonny DeLuca then singled to center, sending center fielder Cedric Mullins (who pinch-ran for Caminero) home to tie the game.
JONNY DELUCA TIES THE GAME IN THE 12TH! pic.twitter.com/Urc9nwUt67
— MLB (@MLB) October 28, 2026
The Brewers kept unraveling. Left fielder Chandler Simpson singled to center, loading the bases. Second baseman Ben Williamson delivered the dagger with an RBI single to right, driving in catcher Nick Fortes (who ran for Hicks), securing a 4-3 comeback win for the Rays.
WILLIAMSON WALKS IT OFF #ForTampaBay | #WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/jVKo4OUoNh
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) October 28, 2026
"We continue to fight, and that's been the motto of this series and this whole season," Williamson told Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal in a postgame interview.
The Rays will need plenty more fight to extend the best-of-seven series. Tampa Bay, which now trails 3-1, hosts the Brewers for Game 5 on Wednesday night. The Rays hope they can join the 2004 Boston Red Sox as the second team in MLB history to erase a 3-0 deficit in the postseason and win a series.
It's highly unlikely the Rays will, but if they somehow do, it would cap off an incredible comeback. It would also make Ortiz's throwing error one of the series-altering plays. Without it, Tampa Bay may not have saved its Fall Classic hopes.
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