ST. PETERSBURG, FL — The Tampa Bay Rays, in the euphoria of their clubhouse Tuesday night, are aware of baseball history.
They know that no team in World Series history has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit.
They know that no team trailing 3 games to 0 has ever forced a Game 6, let alone a Game 7.
They also know that well, it’s actually possible.
The 2004 Boston Red Sox proved it.
That’s the only time in baseball history that a team came back from a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series, and prevailed, with the Red Sox stunning the New York Yankees with four consecutive victories, enroute to their first World Series championship in 86 years.
The Rays are hoping to become the sequel.
The Rays, three outs away from extinction, stayed alive Tuesday night in an electrifying 4-3, 12-inning comeback victory over the Milwaukee Brewers.
They still are facing an uphill battle, of course, trailing 3-1 and have to face Cy Young favorite Jacob Misiorowski in Game 5 on Wednesday night.
But they have a prayer.
Yep, just like that ’04 Red Sox team, who ironically, stayed alive with a 12-inning victory over the Yankees when they were trailing, 3-0, too.
So why not repeat history?
“In this game, anything can switch really quick," Rays catcher Liam Hicks said. “It’s baseball. You know, they beat us, they killed us, they embarrassed us [Monday in a 10-1 defeat]. And then we were able to flip the script.
“Hopefully, we can use the momentum, because anything can happen."
Oh, how the Rays proved it on this night.
They had been shut out by the Brewers’ vaunted bullpen for eight innings. They had only two hits after the fourth inning. And the Brewers finally took the lead, 3-2, when 22-year-old rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt hit a leadoff homer in the top of the 12th.
“I mean, that homer was definitely a gut punch," Hicks said.
The homer had the Brewers just three outs away from their first World Series title in 57 years.
The World Series trophy was brought downstairs. Carts of champagne and beer were wheeled into the Brewers’ clubhouse. The plastic lining was going to protect the Brewers’ lockers. Commissioner Rob Manfred was getting set for a trophy presentation.
And then, it happened.
Junior Caminero, leading off the 12th, hit a routine grounder to sure-handed third baseman Joey Ortiz. He threw the ball into the dirt, skipping past first baseman Jake Bauers.
“No excuse," Ortiz said. “Not one at all. I should make that play every (expletive) time."
The door was open.
“You see a window like that," Rays outfielder Chandler Simpson said, “you definitely want to take advantage of it."
The Rays did just that.
“You’ve got to take advantage when they make an error like that," Hicks said. “We weren’t ready to go home yet."
Hicks slapped a single to left field off rookie reliever Shane Drohan, with pinch-runner Cedric Mullins scampering to third base. Jonny DeLuca followed with a single up the middle past a drawn-in infield, tying the game. Simpson, after trying to bunt, then slapped a single to center, loading the bases.
“This team is definitely built on putting the ball in play," Rays backup catcher Nick Fortes, who pinch-ran for Hicks in the 12th, said. “That’s what we do, and that’s what they do. They create a lot of pressure on the defense. They create chaos, and so do we."
Oh, did they ever, with pinch-hitter Ben Williamson hitting a chopper over Bauers’ head into right field for the game-winner.
It was the first pinch-hit, walk-off since Gene Larkin’s game-winner in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series for the Minnesota Twins.
“It’s what you dream of growing up," Williamson said. “You play wiffle ball in the backyard with your friends and you're dreaming of hitting a walk-off ball in the World Series.’’
The sellout crowd of 40,514 screamed, and at the same time, groaned, with the stadium largely full of Brewers’ fans.
“It’s electric either way,’’ DeLuca said. “We had a sold-out crowd, and being able to play on this field, after everything we’ve been through, and sold out, regardless of what fans are in here it’s pretty fun.’’
Just like that, the script dramatically flipped, becoming only the fourth game in World Series history that a team staved off elimination with an extra-inning victory.
Can the Rays possibly pull this off?
“One-hundred percent," Caminero said.
Why?
“Because," he said, “we’re the best team in the American League."
To win the World Series, of course, would be historic. The Brewers have 113 victories in 2026 for a reason. They would have to lose four consecutive games, which hasn’t happened since April. Maybe, the Rays say, they’re due.
“It's a pretty cool position we're in,’’ DeLuca said, “and it's a special opportunity that we have. So, we're just going to take it one day at a time and just be in the moment. We love the spot we're in, and we’re ready to take on the challenge.’’
Let’s be honest, the Brewers are sitting awfully pretty. They’ve got The Miz in Game 5. They’ve got a tired, but still vaunted bullpen. And even if they happened to lose Game 5, the next two games would be in Milwaukee, a house of horrors for visiting teams.
Besides, the Brewers never thought it was going to be easy, anyway. The Rays won 98 games during the season. They won the AL East going away. And except for the Game 3 blowout, every game has gone down to the last out with the tying run on base.
“I think the guys understand it's going to be hard," Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “You're playing the best team in the American League. They proved it all year long, and they came up big today.
“When you're achieving something like this, it's going to have its adversity. We had some things go our way [Monday]. 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 [Wednesday] morning and come ready to play.’’
Still, they’ll wake up with some pain. To be so close, with the World Series stage ready to be wheeled onto the field, with the World Series parade already being planned for Friday, it was excruciating.
Rays starter Nick Martinez, who pitched two shutout innings in relief, remembers pitching for the Texas Rangers’ instructional league team after being drafted in 2011. He was in Arizona with his teammates watching the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. They were one strike away, twice, from winning the World Series in Game 6. They lost 10-9, in 11 innings, a game that became known simply as the David Freese game. They lost again in Game 7. The Rangers didn’t win the World Series for another dozen years.
“Got to just keep fighting," Martinez said, “one day at a time. One pitch at a time. One inning at a time.’’
In the famous words of former pitcher Joaquin Andujar: “You can sum up baseball in one word: you never know."
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Can Tampa Bay Rays do the unthinkable? World Series comeback would be unparalleled
