Brewers Win First Title in 58 Years

Milwaukee scored 42 total runs across the five games of the World Series, a total that defied the expectations of a team ranked 19th in payroll. The Brewers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 on Wednesday night at Tropicana Field to claim the championship, their first in 58 seasons. This victory marks the end of a long wait for the franchise, which began play in Seattle in 1969 before moving to Milwaukee in 1970. The team had previously lost the 1982 Series to the St. Louis Cardinals after blowing a three-run lead in the final innings of Game 7.

Jacob Misiorowski anchored the pitching staff with 5 2/3 scoreless innings. The 24-year-old right-hander threw 86 pitches, 58 of which were strikes, and allowed only two hits. He left the game with a right calf cramp but received a standing ovation from fans in the Brew-Crew section behind the dugout. Misiorowski had previously broken the World Series velocity record with a 103.5 mph fastball on the first pitch of the series. He finished the postseason with a 2-0 record and a 0.84 ERA.

Cooper Pratt drove in two runs and hit safely in every at-bat, setting a Series rookie record with six consecutive hits. The 22-year-old rookie singled off Drew Rasmussen in the second inning to take a 1-0 lead. He later scored on a David Hamilton single. William Contreras added an RBI double in the sixth, and Pratt followed with a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 4-0. Jackson Chourio finished with 11 hits, a five-game Series record. The Brewers led the majors in wins with 103 during the regular season and posted an 11-2 record in the playoffs, including a sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series.

Manager Pat Murphy, who survived a heart attack in 2020, guided his team back from a 3-0 deficit. The Rays had won the first three games, making them the fifth team in history to lose in Game 5 after falling behind 3-0. Tampa Bay had entered the series with a 0-3 record in previous World Series appearances in 2008 and 2020. The Rays had a 4-0 lead in Game 2 but failed to hold it, losing 5-4. They also lost Game 4 in extra innings despite being three outs away from a sweep.

The series highlighted a small-market success story in a league debating salary caps. The Brewers and Rays finished the regular season in the bottom half of payrolls, with Milwaukee at 19th and Tampa Bay at 25th. This was the first World Series since 1991 between two teams with such low payrolls. A management lockout is scheduled to begin on December 2, which could impact the 2027 season. The Brewers' win adds to the city's baseball history, which includes the 1957 championship by the Milwaukee Braves.

Trevor Megill closed the game, allowing an RBI double to Chandler Simpson with two outs in the ninth. He retired Richie Palacios on a grounder to end the game and was mobbed by teammates. The Rays' Ben Williamson grounded out to end the fourth inning, a play that came after he went 1 for 15 in the postseason before a game-winning hit in Game 4. Drew Rasmussen pitched on three days' rest and allowed one run and two hits in four innings. He struck out Garrett Mitchell looking to strand a runner on third base.