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.

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."

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.