Milwaukee Brewers beat Tampa Bay Rays to claim first World Series title
The Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in Game 5 to win the World Series for the first time in franchise history.
The Milwaukee Brewers won their first World Series championship in franchise history on Wednesday night, defeating the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in Game 5 to take the series four games to one.
The win at Tropicana Field in Florida ended a 57-year-long wait for Milwaukee, which had reached the World Series only once before. In 1982 they lost in seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals.
This victory over the Rays completed one of the most dominant postseason runs in MLB history for the Brewers. Catcher William Contreras was named World Series MVP.
Game 5: Brewers take control
In the fifth game against the Tampa Bay Rays, the Milwaukee Brewers steadily established a lead throughout the game. The Brewers opened the scoring in the second inning when rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt sent Brice Turang home.
Milwaukee then extended their lead in the fifth inning off a David Hamilton hit, making the score 2-0.
The Brewers added two more runs in the sixth inning, on a double from William Contreras and a sacrifice fly from Cooper Pratt, to lead the game 4-0.
Pitcher Jacob Misiorowski played a central role in the victory and kept Tampa Bay off the scoreboard for most of the night. He held the Rays scoreless over five and two-third innings, allowing just two hits and striking out two, before leaving the game with leg cramps in the sixth inning.
The Rays were ultimately able to score only once, in the ninth inning, making the score 4-1 in the end.
With four wins in five games, the Milwaukee Brewers clinched the World Series title.
“I think about the city of Milwaukee, the state of Wisconsin,” manager Pat Murphy said. “They pushed us through for sure, and this group of guys right here, this 2026 team will be remembered forever.”
“They deserve that,” he continued, “because they were a team, and I couldn’t be more grateful and more proud to be a Milwaukee Brewer.”
The Road to the Title
Milwaukee won a franchise-record 103 games in the regular season, the most in the major leagues. The Brewers carried that form into the playoffs, winning 11 of their 13 postseason games.
In the playoffs, the Brewers beat the San Diego Padres 3-1 in the Division Series. They then swept the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers 4-0 in the Championship Series to secure its first World Series appearance since 1982.
The Brewers faced the Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series, who had won 98 regular-season games. Milwaukee won the first three games before Tampa Bay’s extra-inning victory forced a fifth game.
The title is Milwaukee’s first World Series championship since the franchise was established. It is also the city’s first baseball championship since the Milwaukee Braves won in 1957, before moving to Atlanta in 1966.
Brewers’ captain Christian Yelich, who has been with the team since 2018, reflected on what the victory means. “I can’t tell you how many people have told me, ‘I have waited my whole life for this’,” he said. “I think any time you win a World Series, it changes a place a little bit.”
Article written by Jana Van Nieuwenborgh
