Brewers vs. Rays: Jacob Misiorowski Pitches the Brewers to Their First World Series Title in Game 5

The final out was an ordinary grounder off the bat of Richie Palacios. Nothing after it was ordinary. Trevor Megill flung both arms toward the roof, the Brewers buried him near the mound, and the section behind Milwaukee's dugout at Tropicana Field, occupied by traveling Brewers fans for three straight nights, came completely unglued.

The Milwaukee Brewers are World Series champions for the first time. Wednesday's 4-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 5 closed out the Series four games to one, and Milwaukee rode 5 2/3 scoreless innings from Jacob Misiorowski and another two-RBI night from rookie Cooper Pratt to the first World Series title in franchise history. It took 58 seasons. The fans were still chanting almost two hours after the last pitch.

Pratt Strikes First, Again

One night after the 12th-inning collapse, the usual suspect got Milwaukee going. Drew Rasmussen, working on short rest, allowed just two hits in four innings, but both came in the second. Brice Turang lined a double into the left-center gap, Sal Frelick took a pitch off the body, and Pratt punched a single into center to score Turang. Pratt got hung up in a rundown between first and second, but Milwaukee had a 1-0 lead.

Jake Bauers, the NLCS MVP, made sure it held. He laid out for a Ryan Vilade smash in the third and beat him to the bag, then rescued the fourth, with two Rays in scoring position, by snagging a high David Hamilton throw with a foot still on first.

In the fifth, Pratt's single made it six straight hits, a World Series rookie record, and Hamilton then singled to right off Kevin Kelly to bring him around. 2-0.

The Turning Point: The Sixth-Inning Cushion

In the sixth, Christian Yelich was hit by a pitch, and William Contreras ripped a double to left off Garrett Cleavinger to bring him home. Turang singled and stole second, and Pratt lifted a sacrifice fly that was caught in foul territory in right, scoring Contreras. It was 4-0, and the Rays were staring at a mountain.

That cushion mattered, because the Brewers were about to lose their ace.

The Miz Brings It One More Time

Misiorowski did not have his usual swing-and-miss stuff. For the first time in his two-year career, he got through three innings without a strikeout, and his two punchouts tied a career low. It barely mattered. His first 12 pitches were all four-seamers, every one between 100.9 and 103 mph, and he reached 103 twice on the night. Tampa Bay managed two hits and a walk against him. When Yandy Díaz whiffed on a cutter to end the fifth, The Miz let it all out with a double fist pump on his way off the mound.

A right calf cramp forced him out with two outs in the sixth. The Brewers fans gave him a standing ovation. His Series line: 2-0, 0.84 ERA. Five days earlier, his very first pitch of Game 1 had set the World Series velocity record at 103.5 mph.

"I don't even have words," Misiorowski said. "It's amazing, just watching my guys celebrate."

The bullpen relay went JoJo Romero for two outs, Abner Uribe for two more and Megill for the final six. Chandler Simpson spoiled the shutout with a two-out RBI double in the ninth that scored Liam Hicks, but Palacios bounced out one batter later.

The souvenir ball? Bauers pocketed it before diving into the pile, then handed it to manager Pat Murphy because, he said, the skipper "deserved it."

The Faces of the Title

William Contreras was named World Series MVP, and his sixth-inning double broke the clincher open. He went 1 for 4 with an RBI and a run.

Cooper Pratt went 2 for 3 with two RBIs and a run. The 22-year-old made his major league debut in June, and now he owns a World Series rookie record.

"This is one of the greatest moments of my life. Oh my gosh. It doesn't even feel real," Pratt said. "This is surreal. It only took four months!"

Christian Yelich got a hug on the field from franchise icon Robin Yount, who threw out the ceremonial first pitch before Game 1 wearing the late Bob Uecker's sport coat.

"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."

Stats That Matter

• 11: Chourio's hits in the Series, a record for a five-game World Series.
• 6: Straight hits by Pratt, a World Series rookie record.
• 0.84: Misiorowski's ERA across two Series starts, both wins.
• 4: Home runs hit by both teams combined in the Series, three of them by Milwaukee.
• 11-2: Milwaukee's postseason record, including seven comeback wins and a sweep of the Dodgers in the NLCS.

What It Means

The Brewers win the World Series 4-1, and they did it their way. From MLB's smallest market, they piled up a big-league-best 103 regular-season wins, and per the Elias Sports Bureau, only 32.1% of their runs this season came on homers, the lowest share in the majors. This was also the first World Series since 1991 between two teams in the bottom half of payrolls. And for the city, it is the first MLB championship since the 1957 Braves.

It closes a loop that opened in 1982. Harvey Kuenn's club, Harvey's Wallbangers, had five Hall of Famers, made the Brewers' only previous World Series trip and led 3-1 in the sixth inning of Game 7 before the St. Louis Cardinals rallied for a 6-3 win. This team had a lineup of grinders, a lights-out bullpen and a manager who spoke like a man planning a road trip to upstate New York.

"Cooperstown will remember the 2026 Brewers," Murphy said.

For the Rays, an expansion team that debuted in 1998, the wait goes on. They fell to 0-3 in World Series play after losses in 2008 and 2020 and remain one of four franchises without a World Series title, along with Colorado, San Diego and Seattle. "It's as close-knit of a group as I've ever been around," Rays manager Kevin Cash said.

Even Rasmussen tipped his cap. "That's the best team I've ever played against," he said.

Closing Take

The franchise began as the Seattle Pilots in 1969, moved to Milwaukee a year later and spent every season since chasing this. Owner Mark Attanasio took the postgame stage and said it plainly.

"Milwaukee has waited 44 years, and Milwaukee, you have your world championship!"

Fitting that Happy Days was set in Milwaukee. It just took the Brewers a while to turn it into a documentary.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Postgame quotes and historical notes as reported by the Associated Press and MLB.com.