Cooper Pratt homers in 12th, Rays walk off Brewers

Before the homer, Pratt had already saved the Brewers once. With Milwaukee behind late at the Trop, he picked up Sal Frelick's 2-out single and tied the game.

Talkin' Baseball

@TalkinBaseball_

Cooper Pratt ties the game! He scores Sal Frelick from first base with a double

That turned Game 4 into a war. It stayed tied into the 9th, when Pratt went from hero to the guy you're yelling at. He was called safe trying to steal second, the Rays challenged, and after a long review the call got overturned. Out. About as close as a replay gets, and it sent the game to the bottom of the 9th still tied.

Nobody scored in the 9th, the 10th or the 11th. Then in the top of the 12th the rookie got a 2-2 sweeper from Ian Seymour over the heart of the plate and put it in the left-field bleachers. It was his 4th hit of the night and his first career postseason homer. It also made him the first rookie in World Series history with 4 hits in a potential clinching game. He's a 6th-round pick from 2023, he's 22, and on the road he'd just put the Brewers 3 outs from a title.

Foul Territory

@FoulTerritoryTV

COOPER PRATT. BREWERS LEAD. 😱 Stream on @FOXOne.

The Brewers didn't get the 3 outs. In the bottom of the 12th, a throwing error by Joey Ortiz put Junior Caminero on base, Shane Drohan gave up back-to-back singles that loaded the bases, and pinch-hitter Ben Williamson singled to walk it off. Rays 4, Brewers 3. Tampa's season is still alive.

Then came the twist, which you could only catch by squinting at the replay. By Wednesday afternoon people had slowed down the homer footage and noticed something on the Trop's own scoreboards. Right after Pratt's homer, in the top of the 12th, the home team's big screen looked like it showed a "Brewers World Series Champions" graphic. The Rays' building congratulated the other team before the game was over, and then the Rays went out and won it.

Barstool Baseball

@StoolBaseball

Look closely at the scoreboards up there…..did The Trop throw up “Brewers World Series Champions” on the big screen after Cooper Pratt’s homer?

The graphic is funny. For Milwaukee the loss is not. Still, it doesn't erase what the kid did. Asked about rounding the bases, Pratt said the moment was basically a blur.

So here's the situation. The Brewers still lead 3-1, and Game 5 is Wednesday night at 8 p.m. ET back at the Trop. Only 1 team has ever come back from 3-0 down in a best-of-7, the 2004 Red Sox. If Milwaukee closes it out, Pratt's homer becomes a footnote in a title run. If it doesn't, the champions graphic on that jumbotron is going to get very famous.