Brewers Win First Title in Game 5

The Milwaukee Brewers are champions for the first time, and the timing adds a second layer to the story. The Brewers, the sport's smallest-market club, beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in Game 5 on Wednesday at Tropicana Field, and that result runs against the argument owners are making about payroll and competitive balance.

Milwaukee's title arrived as club owners press the players' association for a salary cap, contending that small-market teams cannot win regularly. This was the first Series since 1991 in which both clubs sat in the bottom half of payrolls: Milwaukee ranked 19th and Tampa Bay 25th as of Aug. 31. A management lockout is likely to begin Dec. 2 and could affect the 2027 season.

On the field, Milwaukee built the lead with small, steady pieces. Cooper Pratt singled in a run off Rays starter Drew Rasmussen in the second, and David Hamilton drove Pratt home in the fifth. William Contreras doubled in a run in the sixth, then Pratt added a sacrifice fly that made it 4-0. Tampa Bay's run came on Chandler Simpson's double in the ninth.

Jacob Misiorowski, 24, started on four days' rest and worked 5 2/3 scoreless innings, giving up two hits before a right calf cramp ended his night. He finished with two strikeouts on 86 pitches. JoJo Romero and Abner Uribe each recorded two outs, and closer Trevor Megill covered the final two innings, ending the game by retiring Richie Palacios on a grounder to second.

Misiorowski set a velocity mark at the start of this Series. On the first pitch last Friday he threw a 103.5 mph fastball, a World Series record, and he opened Wednesday with 12 straight four-seamers between 100.9 and 103 mph. Milwaukee fans who had filled the area behind the Brewers' dugout for the last three games gave him a standing ovation as he left.

Pratt, who made his major league debut in June, reached a Series rookie record with six straight hits. Jackson Chourio collected 11 hits across the five games, a Series record for a five-game stretch. Contreras was named Series MVP.

"It's the best feeling ever. All of our fans are here. I know the city's waited a long, long time for this," captain Christian Yelich said. Pratt called it "one of the greatest moments of my life," adding: "It only took four months!"

The club's path to the title included a loss. Milwaukee fell 4-3 in 12 innings in Game 4, when it was three outs from a sweep. The franchise began as the Seattle Pilots in 1969, moved to Milwaukee in 1970, and had reached one other Series, losing Game 7 to the Cardinals 6-3 in 1982.

"Milwaukee has waited 44 years, and Milwaukee, you have your world championship," owner Mark Attanasio said from the postgame stage. Manager Pat Murphy, 67, who had a heart attack in 2020 and was named NL Manager of the Year in 2024 and 2025, said: "This group of guys right here, the 2026 team, will be remembered forever, and they deserve that because they were a team."

Tampa Bay fell to 0-3 in World Series appearances, after losses in 2008 and 2020. Manager Kevin Cash said of his players: "They're banged-up and hurting right now, but just grateful for the way they carried themselves all season long." Milwaukee finished the regular season with 103 wins, the most in the majors, and went 11-2 in the postseason, including a sweep of the Dodgers in the NLCS.