AI summary
Summary of article:
After 12 innings of hard work in Game 4 of the World Series, the Rays relied on Williamson to score a bye hit, defeated the Brewers 4:3, and recovered from the disappointing situation of 0 wins and 3 losses.
Rays escaped 0-3 last nightworld Series Game 4 went 12 extra innings, and ultimately relied on Ben Williamson to pitch a bye hit, securing the first win of his career with a 4-3 lead. Williamson’s second playoff hit of his career was priceless. He said: “This is the scene I have dreamed of encountering since I was a child.”
The Rays blew leads twice last night and tied the Brewers. After the 9th inning of the regular season, the game was tied 2:2 and entered overtime. The Brewers fought hard until the 12th inning. The Brewers took the lead for the first time thanks to a homer from Cooper Pratt. However, the Rays responded by taking advantage of a defensive error in the second half of the inning. He scored 4 hits in a row to come back and win, and came back from the dilemma of almost losing.
With the bases loaded at 3–3 in the bottom of the 12th inning, Williamson walked and hit an infield bounce ball. The ball bounced and landed over the first baseman’s head, resulting in a walk-off hit. It was the second time he had a walk-off hit in a World Series, following Gene Larkin of the Twins in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series.
After the game, Rays head coach Kevin Cash joked: “I told him to hit that exactly.” Williamson described it as a scene he had encountered since childhood. “When you’re playing waffle ball with your friends in the backyard, you imagine hitting a walk-off hit in the World Series one day.”
The 25-year-old Williamson participated in the playoffs for the first time in his career. Before this game, he had only one hit in 15 at-bats. Today, with the World Series at stake, he was finally waiting for his chance to take over. After the game, he revealed: “At that point I jokingly thought, ‘Yeah, I’m ready to hit by the fourth or fifth inning.'”
After Game 2 of the 2008 World Series, the Rays won another World Series at home at Tropicana Field for the first time in 18 years. However, after Williamson’s bye hit, 40,514 fans gathered at the scene, the American media reported that there were cheers and sighs at the same time, because most of the spectators were Brewers fans who had come from far away to watch the Brewers’ first championship in history.
Summary FAQ
-
In the bottom of the 12th inning, with the bases loaded and the game tied at 3:3, the Rays sent Williamson in to relieve him. He hit an infield bounce ball for a bye hit, helping the team win 4:3 and successfully avoid being swept.
-
It was Williamson’s second career playoff hit, and also allowed another playoff hit in the World Series. The previous one was made by Larkin of the Twins in 1991 and had special significance.
-
The Rays were already in the trouble of 0 wins and 3 losses, almost eliminated. This victory allowed them to regain a life-extending game in the World Series, and finally win the World Series on home soil for the first time in 18 years.
