Brewers Defeat Rays for First Title
Jacob Misiorowski pitched five scoreless innings as Milwaukee won Game 5, 4-1, to claim the championship.
By Amelia Gupta ·
The Milwaukee Brewers, a small-market franchise competing against the Tampa Bay Rays, won the World Series for the first time in their history on Wednesday night.
The game concluded at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, where thousands of traveling fans had occupied the infield section. The victory ended a 44-year wait for a title since the 1957 season, which the team won as the Atlanta Braves before relocating.
The franchise began play as the Seattle Pilots in 1969 and moved to Milwaukee in 1970. Their previous World Series appearance occurred in 1982, when they held a three-run lead in the sixth inning of Game 7 before losing to the St. Louis Cardinals. The current squad finished the regular season with a major league-leading 103 wins and went 11-2 in the postseason, including a sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series.
Jacob Misiorowski led the pitching effort with five and two-thirds scoreless innings. He threw 86 pitches, 58 of which were strikes, and allowed only two hits. The 24-year-old right-hander left the game due to a right calf cramp. He had previously broken the World Series velocity record with a 103.5 mph fastball during the series opener.
Offense from rookie Cooper Pratt and William Contreras secured the win. Pratt recorded two hits and two runs batted in, extending a World Series rookie record with six consecutive hits before a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning. Contreras, named the series most valuable player, hit an RBI double. Manager Pat Murphy, who survived a heart attack in 2020, credited the team's unity for the result.
The Rays, an expansion team that debuted in 1998, now hold a 0-3 record in World Series appearances, having also lost in 2008 and 2020. They are one of four franchises without a championship, alongside Colorado, San Diego, and Seattle. Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash described his players as close-knit despite the loss.
The series ended amid negotiations between owners and the players' association regarding a salary cap. A management lockout is expected to begin on December 2, potentially threatening the 2027 season. This was the first World Series since 1991 to feature two teams from the bottom half of major league payrolls, with Milwaukee ranking 19th and Tampa Bay 25th as of August 31.
