The Milwaukee Brewers were three outs away from a championship on Tuesday night.

Their dominant bullpen needed to produce just one more inning of scoreless baseball, but it could not shut the door in the bottom of the 12th.

The Tampa Bay Rays rallied for a 4-3 victory in Game 4 of the World Series to somewhat improbably force a Game 5 on Wednesday at Tropicana Field in Tampa. Less than 24 hours after the Rays’ backs were against the wall, they will find themselves in the same situation Wednesday.

And this test could be even more daunting for the American League champs, as Jacob Misiorowski is taking the mound for Milwaukee. Tampa Bay is likely countering with some sort of bullpen game.

MLB Betting Odds and Trends

The Brewers are -160 favourites to win Game 5 on the MLB odds, with the total pegged at 6.5.

Game 4 hasn’t changed oddsmakers minds as Milwaukee remains a heavy -1400 favourite on the MLB futures board to win the series. The Rays are +850 long shots to complete a four-game reverse sweep.

Milwaukee Brewers

Although the Brewers missed a golden opportunity to win their first World Series on Tuesday, there is no reason to panic. They are simply the best team in baseball and that has been especially the case in the playoffs.

Milwaukee has not lost back-to-back games throughout its entire postseason run. In fact, it has lost only two games in total!

Manager Pat Murphy’s club is 10-2 overall during these playoffs, including a sweep of the high-powered Dodgers and what is still a relatively comfortable 3-1 lead over the Rays. Even though the best bullpen in baseball had to work hard over the past two days, it may get a bit of a break in Game 5. That’s because Misiorowski is getting the ball for the Brew Crew.

The flame-throwing right-hander went 16-5 with a 1.80 ERA, a 0.80 WHIP and 252 strikeouts during the regular season. He is sporting a 2.70 ERA in the playoffs and Milwaukee has won all three of his starts.

Tampa Bay Rays

Game 4 was obviously a must-win situation for the Rays, so you can’t blame manager Kevin Cash for emptying the tank – including the use of Game 1 starter and potential Game 5 starter Nick Martinez for 2.0 innings (33 pitches).

As such, Tampa Bay had not yet revealed its pitching plans for Wednesday at the time of writing. Another bullpen game appears to be in the cards after the Rays burned through seven different pitchers to survive all 12 innings on Tuesday. Chances are good that the home team will have to score more than a few runs in order to prevail in this one. What had been cold bats throughout the Fall Classic finally heated up and not a moment too soon, with four consecutive hits in the bottom of the 12th on Tuesday.

Chandler Simpson delivered one of those hits – three in total in Game 4 – and may be relied upon again in Game 5. Simpson is 9-for-23 over the last six games and he is 2-for-4 lifetime against Misiorowski.

MLB Prediction: Who Will Win Brewers vs. Rays?

Even though the visitors also used a ton of relievers on Tuesday, their pitching is still in fantastic shape.

Even if Misiorowski does not come close to going the whole way, Milwaukee is armed with perhaps the best bullpen in baseball – one that ranked third in all of MLB during the regular season with a 3.40 ERA and has compiled a 1.31 ERA in the playoffs.

Aaron Ashby has fired 18.0 scoreless innings in the postseason and should be available for Wednesday after Murphy rather surprisingly took him out after 31 pitches on Tuesday. The Brewers’ eight-run outburst in the fifth inning of Game 4 very much looks like an aberration as opposed to the rule.

Another low-scoring affair like Game 5 is probably in the cards, and it will likely go Milwaukee’s way behind Misiorowski and an elite bullpen. Let’s go with Brewers 4, Rays 2.

BREWERS

Away

4

RAYS

Home

2

Score
Predictions

Matchup