The Rays won Game 4 of the 2026 World Series in 12 innings on the strength of great pitching and some excellent timely hitting in their two-run 12th inning to walk it off. That 4-3 extra-innings win trimmed the Brewers' still-commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series, and now the Rays will try to stay alive with another win on Wednesday night.

A big story heading into Game 5 on Wednesday night was the pitching situation for the Rays. After they needed to use presumptive Game 5 starter Nick Martinez in relief in Game 4, they appeared to be stuck without a starter for Game 5. Their hand has been forced, and All-Star Drew Rasmussen will get the nod on short rest in Game 5.

"[Pitching coach Kyle Snyder] had mentioned something to him pregame yesterday about going short," Rays manager Kevin Cash said on Wednesday. "Ras was supportive of it. I walked down and talked to Nick after Nick had pitched, and Ras, and said, 'how do you guys feel about tomorrow?' I think there was some thought process, pitching Ian Seymour last night in the game, that we were going to cut into whatever he had available if he came in the game. And both guys gave a thumbs-up, we're good to go.

"Then afterwards, the celebration of the win, sat down and talked to our group and then called Ras right after he'd left the ballpark, and he was 100% on board wanting the ball."

Rasmussen was 16-5 with a 2.67 ERA in the regular season and had been great on the American League side of the bracket. In his Game 2 start in the World Series, however, he allowed three earned runs on six hits in 3 ⅔ innings. Further, Rasmussen's career numbers on short rest are brutal. Small sample caveats apply, and the World Series is a different animal entirely, but in four short-rest starts in his career, he's allowed five earned runs on nine hits in seven innings. He hasn't started on short rest since 2024.

Given that the Rays are up against the wall here and also facing Brewers ace and likely National League Cy Young winner Jacob Misiorowski, a big spotlight is now on Rasmussen to help his team stay alive.

"I'd be really excited for the opportunity," Rasmussen said before Game 4 when asked about the possibility of another World Series start. "I'm not overly pleased with how things went in Milwaukee the other day for me myself, and so I guess at this point we're just hopeful that I get another chance to start."

It's unclear how far into the game Rasmussen will be able to go -- Cash said he's "going to take the ball and give us what he can give us" -- and the bullpen behind him has been used heavily and also struggled recently, even with the yeoman's work in Game 4. Cole Sulser, Steven Matz and Garrett Cleavinger did not pitch on Tuesday and thus can probably expect to be used in Game 5. Bryan Baker and Kevin Kelly did pitch in Game 4, but they sat in Monday's Game 3 blowout loss, which means they're presumably available. Ian Seymour also didn't pitch in Game 3, but his 32-pitch workload in Game 4 may rule him out. Tyler Wells and Cameron Booser have each pitched two days in a row, but desperate straits in October may mean they'll be called upon again. 

As a reminder, no team in World Series history has ever blown a 3-0 lead. If we expanded the search to the entire postseason, only the 2004 Red Sox came back from a 3-0 hole to topple the Yankees. That's the lone example. The most recent 3-0 World Series lead came in 2024, when the Dodgers went up big on the Yankees, lost Game 4, but then clinched the series with a Game 5 win. The Brewers are looking to replicate that feat.