The Milwaukee Brewers are World Series champions for the first time in the club’s history. A 4-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 5 on Wednesday night at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, sealed the best-of-seven series 4-1 and ended a wait that stretched back to the franchise’s founding in 1969.
The clincher came one night after the Rays had kept the series alive with a dramatic extra-innings win in Game 4. This time there was no late escape. Milwaukee built a four-run lead, its pitching held firm, and closer Trevor Megill recorded the final out to spark celebrations on the field and among the thousands of Brewers supporters who had travelled to Florida.
FAKTA
- Result: Milwaukee Brewers 4, Tampa Bay Rays 1 — Game 5, World Series, Wednesday 28 October 2026, Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida.
- Series: Brewers win 4-1 — the franchise’s first World Series title in its 57-year history.
- Winning pitcher: Jacob Misiorowski threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits, before leaving with a calf cramp.
- Key batting: Rookie Cooper Pratt drove in two runs; William Contreras added an RBI double and was named World Series MVP.
- Season record: Milwaukee led the major leagues with 103 regular-season wins and finished the postseason 11-2.
- Previous appearance: The Brewers’ only earlier World Series trip came in 1982, when they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals.
- What’s next: A championship parade in downtown Milwaukee is scheduled for Friday 30 October.
Brewers World Series win: how Game 5 unfolded
Milwaukee struck first in the second inning, when Pratt’s single brought home the opening run against Rays starter Drew Rasmussen. The rookie shortstop, who had made his major league debut only in June, singled again in the fifth and then scored on David Hamilton’s single to double the lead.
The decisive sixth inning saw Contreras double home Christian Yelich before Pratt’s sacrifice fly stretched the advantage to 4-0. Tampa Bay’s only run arrived in the ninth, when Chandler Simpson doubled home a run with two outs, but Megill then retired Richie Palacios on a ground ball to end the game.
A young pitching staff rises to the moment
Misiorowski, 24, set the tone on the mound. The right-hander, pitching on four days’ rest, opened with a string of fastballs above 100 mph and kept Tampa Bay scoreless into the sixth inning before cramps forced him from the game. He received a standing ovation from the travelling Brewers fans as he walked off.
JoJo Romero and Abner Uribe bridged the gap to the ninth, and Megill pitched the final two innings to close out the title. Across the series, Milwaukee’s staff allowed just 12 runs in five games — a fitting end to a season built on pitching, defence and so-called small ball rather than home runs.
Contreras caps a dream year as MVP
Contreras was named World Series MVP after batting .381 in the series, with eight hits in 21 at-bats, four runs batted in and two runs scored. The 28-year-old catcher started every postseason game for Milwaukee and, earlier in the year, won the World Baseball Classic with his native Venezuela.
He became only the eighth catcher to be named World Series MVP, and the first since Salvador Perez in 2015. His brother Willson, a World Series winner with the Chicago Cubs in 2016, watched from the stands at Tropicana Field.
For Tampa Bay, the defeat means a third World Series loss in three appearances, after defeats in 2008 and 2020. The Rays remain one of four major league clubs never to have won the championship, alongside Colorado, San Diego and Seattle.
A title for baseball’s smallest market
The championship carries extra meaning because of where it was won from. Milwaukee plays in the smallest market in the major leagues and ranked 19th in payroll this season, yet finished with the best record in baseball and swept the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series on the way to the World Series.
Manager Pat Murphy, named National League Manager of the Year in each of his first two full seasons in charge, praised a group he said cared only about winning together. Captain Christian Yelich, the first captain in Brewers history, lifted the trophy as confetti fell and fans chanted long after the final pitch.
Milwaukee owner Mark Attanasio told the on-field crowd that the city had waited 44 years since its last World Series appearance for this moment. The wait is over: the Brewers are champions at last.
More sports coverage is available on Watan News.
