Brewers Need to Flush Game 4 Collapse as World Series Title Awaits

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Joey Ortiz wanted to “flush” it, the immediate sting of being three outs from winning a World Series, only to let the Tampa Bay Rays wriggle away and force a Game 5 at Tropicana Field on Wednesday.

“There was no excuse,” he said of his bounced throw to first baseman Jake Bauers. “Not one at all. I should make that play every f!@#$% time.

“All we can do, flush it, come back tomorrow, ready to play, and we'll be ready to win.”

Jake Bauers wanted to “flush” it, too, move on, focus on winning one more game to claim the Brewers first championship.

Apparently, the “flush” is a buzz word in the Milwaukee clubhouse.

But staff ace Jacob Misiorowski thought maybe a flush wasn’t in order after the 4-3 defeat. Maybe that’s because the presumptive National League Cy Young Award winner would prefer a little edge behind him in Game 5.

“I don't know. I don't know if you do,” Misiorowski said of the flush. “I think you just build on it. You understand what you did right and what you did wrong, and move on to the game tomorrow.”

The Brewers did many things exceptionally well, as usual on Tuesday, coming from a run down twice and using exceptional defense and bullpen work – particularly from workhouse Aaron Ashby – to give themselves a chance to finish the matter in the ninth inning. They seemed well on their way when rookie Cooper Pratt appeared to steal second with one out, but a video replay ruled he’d been tagged on the slide guard by Richie Palacios. Pratt capped a 4-for-5, two RBI night in the 12th with a bomb to left against reliever Ian Seymour, apparently setting up a championship celebration in front of thousands of Brewer fans at Tropicana Field.

Then the Brewers did something completely uncharacteristic. Ortiz’s error on a Junior Caminero grounder prompted Brewers manager Patrick Murphy to remove Antonio Senzatela, and left-hander Shane Drohan, the seventh Brewers reliever of the night, wilted in the assignment of attacking fellow left-hander Liam Hicks. Hicks, Jonny DeLuca and Chandler Simpson singled to load the bases for pinch-hitter Ben Williamson won it with a chopper over the infield, forcing a tear-down of the Brewers tarped-off clubhouse and allowing the Rays to celebrate with the task ahead still an uncharted one. No team has come from down 0-3 to win a World Series. But winning a one-run game makes losing two by the same margin easier to forget the 10-1 thumping in Game 3. And making the margins seem close enough for the Rays to exploit.

“I think the guys understand it's going to be hard. It's going to be hard,” Murphy said. “You're playing the best team in the American League. They proved it all year long, and they came up big today. It's going to be hard.

“When you're achieving something like this, it's going to have its adversity. We had some things go our way yesterday. They had some things go their way today. That's the way it is. You just live with it, and if you're a competitor, you wake up tomorrow morning and come ready to play.”

For the Rays, winning on Wednesday would be the next monumental challenge no matter what, but the task figures to be even more daunting with manager Kevin Cash using six relievers to finish the last eight innings, including starter Nick Martinez.

Cash said in his media session after midnight that he had not yet formulated a plan, which likely will not include ace Drew Rasmussen coming off his Game 2 start on Saturday and considering his medical history.

“We're going to get together after this session and sit down and talk about pitching,” Cash said. “[We’re] going to check who's available. I'm going to guess most guys are going to say they're capable of an inning or more given it's Game 5 of the World Series, but nothing has been decided yet.”

Not in the series at large, either. But even though Bauers undoubtedly would have preferred a tarped room and champagne showers, he liked where he was standing early Wednesday morning.

“I mean, we've got Miz on the mound,” he said. “I'm never going to be mad about that, for sure.”