Brewers Win Title After 58 Seasons, Ending 44-Year Milwaukee Wait

The Milwaukee Brewers are World Series champions for the first time, defeating the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in Game 5 on Wednesday night at Tropicana Field. The title arrives in the franchise's 58th season and ends a 44-year wait for the city's first championship since the Braves won in 1957 before relocating to Atlanta. Milwaukee's only other World Series appearance, in 1982, ended with a Game 7 loss to St. Louis after the Brewers held a 3-1 lead.

The Brewers ranked 19th in payroll as of Aug. 31, while Tampa Bay ranked 25th. It marked the first Series since 1991 matching teams from the bottom half of payrolls. Milwaukee finished the regular season with 103 wins, the most in baseball, and went 11-2 in the postseason, including seven comeback wins and a sweep of the Dodgers in the NLCS. The team scored 32.1% of its runs on home runs, the lowest share in the majors, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Jacob Misiorowski started Game 5 and worked 5 2/3 innings without allowing an earned run before leaving with a right calf cramp. He gave up two hits, struck out two, and threw 86 pitches, 58 for strikes. The 24-year-old opened the game with 12 straight four-seamers clocked between 100.9 and 103 mph. He finished the Series 2-0 with a 0.84 ERA. William Contreras, named Series MVP, delivered an RBI double.

Cooper Pratt, who debuted in June, went 4 for 5 with two RBIs. The 22-year-old set a Series rookie record with six consecutive hits and added a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning. Jackson Chourio collected 11 hits across the five games, a Series record for a five-game span.

Milwaukee took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on Pratt's RBI single off Rays starter Drew Rasmussen. David Hamilton singled in another run in the fifth, Contreras doubled in the sixth, and Pratt's sacrifice fly made it 4-0. Rasmussen, working on three days' rest, allowed one run over four innings. Tampa Bay scored on Chandler Simpson's RBI double off closer Trevor Megill in the ninth before Megill ended the game on a groundout.

The Rays fell to 0-3 in World Series appearances after losses in 2008 and 2020. Manager Kevin Cash called the group "as close-knit of a group I've ever been around." The Brewers' title comes as owners push the players' association for a salary cap, arguing small-market clubs cannot compete consistently. A management lockout could begin Dec. 2.

Brewers owner Mark Attanasio addressed the crowd on the field after the final out: "Milwaukee has waited 44 years, and Milwaukee, you have your world championship." Manager Pat Murphy, 67, told the team, "This group of guys right here, the 2026 team, will be remembered forever."