What the Rays' Game Four win cost them in arms and in Caminero's foot

The Rays beat Milwaukee 4-3 in 12 innings on Tuesday, and the standings say they are still alive. The ledger says they paid for it. Their pitching plan for Game Five is unsettled, and Junior Caminero left the game with a left foot injury that nobody has described in detail.

The arms that are gone

Nick Martinez was the expected Game Five starter. He then threw 33 pitches in relief, which leaves CBS Sports asking whether he can start on no days of rest. Bryan Baker added 21 pitches over two innings. Ian Seymour threw 32, gave up Cooper Pratt's homer and still collected the win. That is 86 pitches from three arms Kevin Cash would otherwise lean on in a tight spot.

Starter Griffin Jax lasted four innings, so the rest of the night fell on the bullpen. Tyler Wells and Cam Booser also worked, and VSiN notes both have pitched on most of the last four days. Baker had extra rest after the ALCS and is the least taxed of the group, but 21 pitches still matters.

No starter had been announced as of Wednesday morning. MLB.com lists a bullpen game, Drew Rasmussen on short rest, Steven Matz, Garrett Cleavinger and Cole Sulser as the options. Rasmussen on short rest looks unlikely. Sulser, Matz and Cleavinger are the freshest arms, which tells you the Rays will ask a group of relievers to cover a lot of innings against a lineup that has already seen most of their best ones.

The ninth inning explains why Cash spent so freely. With the game tied and two outs, Pratt was called safe at second. Cash challenged, and after a review of nearly four minutes the call became an out. Had it stood, Milwaukee had a runner in scoring position. That one tag bought the extra innings, and the extra innings burned the pen.

Caminero on one leg

Caminero said, "If my foot is broken, I'll play tomorrow." Cash said, "He'll play tomorrow on one leg." Both statements are about willingness. Neither is a diagnosis. A pinch-runner replaced him in the twelfth, and the extent of the injury has not been disclosed.

His bat was not carrying the lineup even before the foot. He has one home run this postseason, and CBS puts his OPS at .717. A hobbled hitter can still draw a walk or poke a single, but power comes from the legs, and the lower half is where he is hurt.

The Misiorowski problem

Jacob Misiorowski starts for Milwaukee. His first pitch in Game One was 103.5 mph, the fastest in World Series history, and VSiN says he held his velocity well that night. MLB.com argues the other side: after a full season of innings, his tank has to be getting close to empty, and Game Five comes on shorter rest than any of his earlier postseason starts. That is the Rays' opening, though it is a hope rather than evidence.

The history

CBS counts 14 teams that have come back from 3-1 in a best-of-seven postseason series. In the World Series, six have done it, the most recent being the 2016 Cubs. The rest lost, which is the larger group by far.

Tampa Bay does not need history to be kind. It needs a bullpen game to hold for nine innings with its best relievers partly used, a lineup to score off a young power pitcher, and a cleanup hitter to play through pain. Game Four bought one more night. The Rays have to decide whether they can afford what it cost.