The Milwaukee Brewers were close to clinching a World Series sweep on Tuesday night in Tampa Bay. They entered Game 4 with a 3-0 series lead. With the score tied 2-2 in the top of the 12, Cooper Pratt came through with a go-ahead solo home run to give the Brewers a 3-2 lead. They had all of the momentum, but the Rays refused to quit. Tampa Bay erased the deficit in the bottom half of the inning and Ben Williamson ultimately came through with a walk-off hit to give the Rays a 4-3 victory.

Milwaukee is still in a tremendous position, but Tuesday's defeat was a brutal blow nonetheless. These three Brewers are the most to blame for the Game 4 loss.

Shane Drohan

It's difficult to place the blame on Drohan. He is a rookie who made 33 total regular season appearances (19 starts). He entered Tuesday's game with just one total postseason appearance. However, this is the World Series and every player is capable of receiving praise or blame, and the reality of the situation is Drohan was unable to shut the door on Tuesday night.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy turned to Drohan (more on that decision later) in the bottom of the 12th. The southpaw allowed four hits and one earned run in the defeat. The Rays did not have much trouble with Drohan as they came back to earn the crucial victory.

Jake Bauers

Bauers won the National League Championship Series MVP, but he's been quiet in the World Series so far. On Tuesday, the Brewers slugger went 0-6. He did not draw a walk either. He only struck out once, but Bauers was a non-factor from an offensive standpoint.

He was also unable to scoop a throw out of the dirt from third baseman Joey Ortiz late in the game which factored into the loss. The error was certainly on Ortiz and the hop was a challenging one for Bauers — but making the play could have led to a different outcome on Tuesday night. Bauers' lack of offensive production is the main talking point here, however.

He's more than capable of turning things around. With that being said, one has to wonder if Murphy will consider moving him down in the lineup in Game 5. He's been hitting second, but Bauers' Fall Classic struggles so far cannot be ignored.

Pat Murphy

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I've given plenty of praise to Pat Murphy, but he deserves some blame for the Game 4 loss. Turning to rookie Shane Drohan after removing veteran Antonio Senzatela from the game was a questionable move. The Brewers were three outs away from winning their first World Series in franchise history.

Jacob Misiorowski is scheduled to start Game 5. Putting Misiorowski in for the bottom of the 12th would have been risky. But I'd argue that putting your best pitcher in for that spot should have been a priority. Milwaukee could have won the contest and not had to worry about Game 5.

From purely a bullpen standpoint, the Brewers did not have many other arms available. So the decision to go with Drohan from that perspective is understandable.

The Rays now have some momentum, though. The good news is that Misiorowski will be available to start Game 5 and the Brewers still hold a 3-1 World Series lead. So yes, I'd argue Murphy deserves some blame for this loss, but the blame isn't too harsh. He's still done a respectable job overall so far in the 2026 Fall Classic.