A long winter is coming to Major League Baseball, which made what happened Tuesday night at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, all the more appreciated. It was a reminder of the game's power to make fans feel everything at once: joy, pain, surprise, excitement and even nausea.
"It's life," Yandy Diaz said. The 35-year-old designated hitter stood in the Tampa Bay Rays' clubhouse, still stunned by a game that lasted 4 hours and 20 minutes. The Rays' season had looked finished, with the Milwaukee Brewers ready to celebrate a championship on their home field. Then Tampa Bay found its footing and rallied for a 4-3 victory in Game 4, keeping the Brewers from clinching the title and extending the Rays' season.
"We have tomorrow," Diaz said. "We have a new day. We have life."
For the first three games of the Series, the Rays had looked nothing like the team that dominated the American League. They played sloppy baseball and looked overmatched. Then, in the top of the 12th inning, Cooper Pratt, a 22-year-old rookie, stepped up against Rays left-hander Ian Seymour and hit a home run into the left-field stands. It was his fourth hit of the night and put Milwaukee half an inning from a championship. "I was just trying not to strike out," Pratt said. "That was probably one of the coolest swings of my life."
The Rays answered in the bottom half of the inning. An error with no outs by the Brewers, followed by hits from Liam Hicks and Jonny De Luca, tied the game. Ben Williamson then delivered the decisive blow, completing a comeback that kept Tampa Bay's championship hopes alive.
Source: ESPN MLB · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing