The 4 Brewers most to blame for blowing World Series sweep of the Rays

The Milwaukee Brewers entered Game 4 of the World Series with all the momentum after winning the first three contests, and when Cooper Pratt launched a go-ahead home run in the 12th inning, it felt as if the franchise's first-ever World Series title was inevitable. All the Brewers needed to do was record three outs without allowing a run, as their bullpen had done all postseason, to wrap things up.

As Brewers fans know by now, winning it all is not easy, and those who didn't know found out the hard way on Tuesday night. The Rays scored two runs in the bottom of the 12th, winning the game and extending the series to a Game 5. The Brewers are still in the driver's seat, but they had a chance to sweep Tampa Bay and blew it, with these individuals deserving of most of the blame.

LHP Shane Drohan

The easiest individual to blame would be the pitcher who blew the lead, Shane Drohan. Now, it's hard to get on him too much, as Drohan, a left-handed pitcher who debuted this season, had pitched just once in a month: an NLCS start against the Dodgers in which he allowed a run in an inning of work. Throwing an inexperienced rookie into that spot with the World Series on the line and expecting a zero was a lot to ask for.

With that being said, Drohan is on the roster because the Brewers think he can get outs, but he got exactly none on Tuesday night. Drohan allowed four straight hits leading to two Rays runs that won Tampa Bay the game. If you don't see Drohan pitch in a big spot again this series, this outing is why.

3B/SS Joey Ortiz

Joey Ortiz made Drohan's life tougher, though, by committing an error to begin that inning with Antonio Senzatela on the mound. Yes, Joey Ortiz, a player who has gone just 2-for-21 at the plate this postseason and is known for his defense, committed a costly error, allowing Junior Caminero to reach in the bottom of the 12th inning.

As if that wasn't bad enough, the following batter (the first Drohan would face), Liam Hicks, hit a ground ball that snuck through the left side of the infield for a base hit. This feels notable, because had Ortiz not committed the error, shortstop Cooper Pratt likely would've been positioned to field that ground ball and record what could've been the second out of the inning. Instead, Pratt was shaded closer to second base in an effort to turn a double play, and of course, the ball went to his right instead.

Ortiz is directly responsible for the tying run scoring, and you could argue that he's the reason why Hicks reached base, too. These two plays gave the Rays life, and you know what happened from there.

3B David Hamilton

Yes, David Hamilton has had an awesome postseason, He even hit key home run that tied the game at two in the top of the fifth inning. Why did that home run only tie the game, though? Well, his error has a lot to do with that. On a ground ball to third base, Hamilton attempted to tag Junior Caminero to record a force-out, but missed and then proceeded to throw the ball wildly to first base, allowing Caminero to score.

Whiffing on the tag is bad, and throwing the ball away is even worse. Hamilton did both of those things on that play, allowing Caminero to score. Now, there's a pretty good chance he would've scored later on anyway (the run was earned, after all), but you never know. Even if Caminero was at third base, perhaps the Brewers could've found a way to strand him. From there, if Hamilton still homered in the fifth, perhaps the Brewers would've won this game in nine innings.

1B Jake Bauers

Jake Bauers has been a key contributor for the Brewers all year and even won the NLCS MVP award. Given that, it's tough to blame him for one loss, but he's also earned star-level treatment. Stars can't go 0-for-6 in a potential World Series clincher that goes 12 innings deep and not get any blame for it, I'm sorry.

Not only did Bauers go 0-for-6, but he came up in the 12th inning after Jackson Chourio's double and left him stranded on second base, denying the Brewers what would've been a key insurance run. To take it a step further, Bauers failed to scoop throws made by Hamilton and Ortiz, leading to runs for the Rays. It's hard to blame him for Hamilton's error, but while you'd like for Ortiz to hit Bauers in the chest given all the time he had to throw, Bauers should have been able to field that throw off the short hop. He didn't, and that kickstarted the Rays' rally.

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