Brewers Top Rays 4-1 to Claim First World Series Crown

St. Petersburg, Fla. Milwaukee closed out the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in Game 5 on Wednesday night, taking the World Series and the first championship in the franchise's 58 seasons. The Brewers won the final three games after falling behind in the series.

Right-hander Jacob Misiorowski threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings before a right calf cramp ended his night, holding Tampa Bay to two hits. He threw 86 pitches, 58 of them strikes, and topped out at 103 mph twice. Misiorowski, 24, had previously reached 103.5 mph on the first pitch of the series. He finished the Series 2-0 with a 0.84 ERA.

Cooper Pratt, who debuted in June, went 4-for-5 with two RBIs. He set a rookie Series record with six consecutive hits, and his RBI single in the second inning gave Milwaukee a 1-0 lead. Jackson Chourio collected 11 hits across the five games, a Series record for that span. William Contreras, named Series MVP, added an RBI double in the sixth.

Milwaukee built its lead against Rays starter Drew Rasmussen, who allowed one run over four innings on three days' rest. Pratt scored on David Hamilton's single in the fifth, Contreras drove in a run off Garrett Cleavinger in the sixth, and Pratt followed with a sacrifice fly. The Brewers pushed their advantage to 4-0 before Tampa Bay scored.

Rays manager Kevin Cash said his club could not overcome injuries. "They're banged-up and hurting right now, but just grateful for the way they carried themselves all season long, winning a bunch of games. It's as close-knit of a group as I've ever been around," Cash said. Tampa Bay fell to 0-3 in World Series appearances after losing in 2008 and 2020. The only clubs with worse records through three Series appearances are the Brooklyn Dodgers at 0-7 and the Detroit Tigers at 0-4, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Brewers captain Christian Yelich spoke to the fans who traveled to Tropicana Field. "It's the best feeling ever. All of our fans are here. I know the city's waited a long, long time for this," Yelich said. "We're so happy to bring it home to them. I can't wait to get back there and celebrate." Owner Mark Attanasio addressed the crowd from the field: "Milwaukee has waited 44 years, and Milwaukee, you have your world championship."

The franchise began as the Seattle Pilots in 1969 and moved to Milwaukee in 1970. Its only other championship came in 1957, when the Braves played in the city before relocating to Atlanta after the 1966 season. Milwaukee's only World Series appearance before this one ended in 1982, when the Brewers lost Game 7 to St. Louis 6-3 after leading 3-1 in the sixth inning.

Manager Pat Murphy, 67, took over after surviving a heart attack in 2020 and won NL Manager of the Year in 2024 and 2025. "This group of guys right here, the 2026 team, will be remembered forever, and they deserve that because they were a team," Murphy said. "They're not worried about their own stats. No one cares about that. They care about coming together and winning tonight."

Milwaukee finished the regular season with a major league-best 103 wins and went 11-2 in the postseason, including a sweep of Los Angeles in the NLCS. The Brewers ranked 19th in payroll as of Aug. 31, and Tampa Bay ranked 25th. It was the first Series since 1991 matching clubs from the bottom half of the payroll rankings. The two teams combined for four home runs in the series, three by Milwaukee; the Brewers scored 32.1% of their runs on homers during the regular season, a major league low, with Tampa Bay second-lowest at 34.4%, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

A management lockout could begin Dec. 2 as owners press the players' association for a salary cap, which would affect the 2027 season. Milwaukee's 103 regular season wins and 11 postseason victories came in the final weeks before that deadline.