Jacob Misiorowski
Jacob Misiorowski

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., — The Milwaukee Brewers won the first World Series championship in franchise history on Wednesday night. They beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in Game 5 at Tropicana Field to take the series four games to one.

Jacob Misiorowski threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings. Rookie Cooper Pratt drove in two runs, and Milwaukee's bullpen held on to end a championship drought that dates back to the franchise's arrival in Milwaukee in 1970.

Closer Trevor Megill gave up a two-out RBI double to Chandler Simpson in the ninth inning, which ended the shutout bid. He then got Richie Palacios to ground out to second base for the final out, and the Brewers rushed the field in celebration.

"It's the best feeling ever," outfielder Christian Yelich said. "All of our fans are here. I know the city's waited a long, long time for this."

Misiorowski sets the tone

Misiorowski allowed two hits and one walk and struck out two before leaving with two outs in the sixth inning. The team said he had a cramp in his right calf. He threw 86 pitches.

The hard-throwing right-hander set a World Series velocity record in Game 1 with a 103.5 mph pitch. On Wednesday he relied less on overpowering hitters and more on weak contact. Tampa Bay did not get a runner past second base while he was on the mound.

"I don't even have words," Misiorowski said after the game.

Relievers JoJo Romero, Abner Uribe and Megill handled the rest of the game. Milwaukee's bullpen finished October with a 1.34 ERA, one of the main reasons for the team's postseason run.

Pratt delivers again

Pratt, 22, opened the scoring in the second inning with an RBI single off Rays starter Drew Rasmussen. He singled again in the fifth and scored when David Hamilton singled to make it 2-0.

In the sixth, catcher William Contreras doubled off left-hander Garrett Cleavinger to drive in a run. Pratt followed with a sacrifice fly that made it 4-0.

Pratt finished with two hits and two RBIs. Earlier in the series he set a World Series rookie record with six consecutive hits.

"This is one of the greatest moments of my life," Pratt said. "Oh my gosh. It doesn't even feel real."

Rays' offense goes quiet

Tampa Bay had four hits. Rasmussen, pitching on three days' rest, allowed one run on two hits over four innings and took the loss.

The Rays won Game 4 4-3 in 12 innings to stay alive, but they could not build on it. Their offense did little against Milwaukee's pitchers for most of Game 5.

Milwaukee had eight hits and two errors. Tampa Bay made no errors.

Key numbers from Game 5:

  • Final score: Brewers 4, Rays 1
  • Series result: Brewers win 4-1
  • Winning pitcher: Jacob Misiorowski (5 2/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 2 K)
  • Losing pitcher: Drew Rasmussen (4 IP, 1 R, 2 H)
  • Hits: Milwaukee 8, Tampa Bay 4
  • Errors: Milwaukee 2, Tampa Bay 0

Contreras named MVP, Chourio sets record

Contreras was named World Series MVP, according to ESPN. He batted .381 in the series, and ESPN reported that he won 10 overturns through the automated ball-strike challenge system.

Center fielder Jackson Chourio had 11 hits, a record for a five-game World Series.

Milwaukee won Game 1 3-2. In Game 2 the Brewers came back from a 4-0 deficit to win 5-4. They won Game 3 10-1 and then lost the 12-inning Game 4 before clinching on Wednesday.

A postseason built on comebacks

The Brewers went 11-2 in the playoffs, including seven comeback wins. They beat the San Diego Padres and then the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series before facing Tampa Bay.

The NLCS win carried extra weight. Milwaukee had lost to the Dodgers in the NLCS in 2018 and again in 2025.

Milwaukee won 103 regular-season games, the most in the majors for the second year in a row.

The Brewers did it without a big payroll. Milwaukee ranked 19th in payroll and Tampa Bay ranked 25th. It was the first World Series since 1991 between two teams in the bottom half of payrolls.

Ending decades of waiting

The franchise began in 1969 as the Seattle Pilots and moved to Milwaukee the next year. Its only previous World Series appearance came in 1982, when the Brewers lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.

Before Wednesday, the city's only major league championship was the 1957 title won by the Milwaukee Braves, who later moved to Atlanta.

Manager Pat Murphy, 67, survived a heart attack in 2020. He was named NL Manager of the Year in 2024 and 2025 and has now led the team to its first title.

Rays fall short again

The Rays joined the American League as an expansion team in 1998 and are now 0-3 in the World Series. They also lost in 2008 and 2020.

Only two other franchises lost their first three World Series appearances: the Brooklyn Dodgers, who started 0-7, and the Detroit Tigers, who started 0-4.

Tampa Bay reached this World Series while playing again at Tropicana Field, and it finishes the season one step short of its first championship.

Uncertain offseason ahead

The celebration comes as baseball faces a possible labor fight. Owners are widely expected to lock out the players when the collective bargaining agreement expires on Dec. 2, which could put the start of the 2027 season at risk.

For one night, though, Milwaukee had its title.