Ben Williamson's walk-off in the 12th beats the Brewers 4-3 and forces Game 5

The Tampa Bay Rays were three outs from being swept on Tuesday night. Then pinch hitter Ben Williamson bounced a bases-loaded single into right field in the 12th inning, and the Rays beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 at Tropicana Field to force Game 5 of the World Series.

Milwaukee had taken a 3-2 lead in the top of the 12th when Cooper Pratt, a 22-year-old rookie who made his debut in June, drove a slider from Ian Seymour into the left-field seats. It was his fourth hit of the night. The Associated Press said he became the first rookie to hit an extra-inning homer in the World Series.

The bottom half started with a mistake. Third baseman Joey Ortiz threw away Junior Caminero's leadoff grounder against Antonio Senzatela. Liam Hicks singled off rookie left-hander Shane Drohan, who was pitching for the first time since Oct. 15, and Jonny DeLuca singled to center to score pinch runner Cedric Mullins and tie it at 3. Chandler Simpson's single loaded the bases, and the Brewers brought in a fifth infielder. Williamson, batting for Victor Mesa Jr. and 1 for 15 this postseason, chopped the ball over first baseman Jake Bauers to end it.

"That was totally what I told him to do," Rays manager Kevin Cash said, according to the AP.

The game was tight from the start. Simpson's RBI double off Dustin May gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead in the second inning, and Pratt's double tied it in the fourth. The Rays went back ahead in the bottom of the fourth when David Hamilton's throw on a DeLuca grounder skipped past Bauers, and Hamilton answered with a solo homer off Griffin Jax in the fifth to make it 2-2.

From there the bullpens held. Tampa Bay used All-Star starter Nick Martinez, who would have started Game 5, for two scoreless innings, and closer Bryan Baker followed with two more, ESPN reported. Milwaukee's Aaron Ashby threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings and broke Andrew Miller's record for scoreless innings by a reliever in one postseason, according to ESPN.

Pratt finished 4 for 5 with two RBIs. Simpson had three hits and Hicks two. Jackson Chourio had two hits for Milwaukee and is 10 for 20 in the Series.

The win ended Milwaukee's eight-game winning streak. According to OptaSTATS, via the AP, Tampa Bay is the fourth team to avoid World Series elimination with an extra-inning comeback, and the first three all won the title. The deficit is still steep. The Rays are the fifth of 26 teams to win Game 4 after trailing 3-0 in the World Series, and the previous four lost Game 5.

Game 5 is Wednesday night at Tropicana Field. The Brewers will start Jacob Misiorowski, and Cash said he had not picked a starter. Caminero hurt his left foot running the bases in the 12th but said he will play.