Brewers Beat Rays 4-1 in Game 5 to Win First World Series Title in Franchise History
The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in Game 5 on Wednesday night at Tropicana Field, closing out the series four games to one behind Jacob Misiorowski's scoreless start and a World Series MVP performance from catcher William Contreras.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Milwaukee Brewers are World Series champions for the first time. Behind 5 2/3 scoreless innings from Jacob Misiorowski and two RBIs from rookie Cooper Pratt, Milwaukee beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in Game 5 on Wednesday night at Tropicana Field, closing out the series four games to one.
The win ended a title wait that stretched back to the franchise’s start as the Seattle Pilots in 1969 and its move to Milwaukee a year later. The Brewers’ only previous trip to the World Series, in 1982, ended with a Game 7 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.
Milwaukee scored first in the second inning, when Pratt singled home a run off Rays ace Drew Rasmussen. Pratt singled again in the fifth for his sixth straight hit in the series, a record for a rookie, and scored on David Hamilton’s single. William Contreras doubled home Christian Yelich in the sixth, and Pratt added a sacrifice fly in the same inning to make it 4-0.
Misiorowski holds Tampa Bay scoreless into the sixth
Misiorowski allowed two hits and left with a right calf cramp after 5 2/3 scoreless innings, earning a standing ovation from the Brewers fans who filled the section behind Milwaukee’s dugout. The 24-year-old finished the series 2-0 with a 0.84 ERA and opened Game 1 with a 103.5 mph fastball, a World Series velocity record, according to the Associated Press.
JoJo Romero and Abner Uribe each recorded two outs, and closer Trevor Megill pitched the final two innings. Tampa Bay’s only run came on Chandler Simpson’s RBI double with two outs in the ninth. Megill then retired Richie Palacios on a grounder to end the game and was mobbed by teammates near the mound.
Contreras named World Series MVP
Contreras was named World Series MVP after hitting .381 with four RBIs in the series, the first MVP award for a Brewers player. He also set a franchise record with 19 postseason hits, USA Today reported, and threw out four runners in the first four games of the series, the first catcher to do that since Lance Parrish in 1984.
His older brother Willson, who won the 2016 World Series with the Chicago Cubs, watched from the stands wearing his younger brother’s jersey, according to USA Today. William Contreras also won the World Baseball Classic with Venezuela in March, joining Jackson Chourio and Antonio Senzatela as players to win the Classic and the World Series in the same year.
The Brewers led the majors with 103 regular-season wins and went 11-2 in the postseason, including a sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. Tampa Bay, which debuted in 1998, fell to 0-3 in World Series appearances after losses in 2008 and 2020.
After the final out, Brewers fans stayed in the stands chanting through the trophy presentation, nearly two hours after the last pitch, according to the Associated Press. Captain Christian Yelich said the city had waited a long time for the title. “It’s the best feeling ever,” he said. “We’re so happy to bring it home to them.”
Milwaukee’s only other major league championship came in 1957, when the Braves, who later moved to Atlanta, won the World Series. The Brewers had been denied a sweep one night earlier, when the Rays won Game 4 in 12 innings to force a fifth game. One night later, Milwaukee finished the job.
Reporting based on coverage by the Associated Press and USA Today.
