4 min read
Major Takeaways
- Milwaukee beat Tampa Bay 4 to 1 in Game 5 to win the World Series four games to one.
- The title is the first in the 57 year history of the franchise.
- Jacob Misiorowski threw five and two thirds scoreless innings in the clincher.
- Rookie Cooper Pratt drove in two runs in the biggest game of his young life.
- Catcher William Contreras was named World Series MVP.
- A championship parade rolls through downtown Milwaukee on Friday.
The wait is over in Milwaukee. The Brewers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4 to 1 on Wednesday night in Game 5 of the World Series to win the first championship in franchise history.
The series ended four games to one. A sellout crowd of 40,489 packed Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, and a huge share of them wore Milwaukee colors on the road.
Misiorowski Silences the Rays
Jacob Misiorowski owned the night from the mound. The young ace allowed just two singles across five and two thirds scoreless innings.
He departed in the sixth inning with cramps in his right calf. By then the tone of the game was set, and the Tampa Bay lineup had no answers.
JoJo Romero and Abner Uribe followed with hitless relief. Trevor Megill took the final two innings and allowed the lone Tampa Bay run in the ninth.
A Rookie Rises to the Moment
Milwaukee struck in the second inning and never trailed. The Brewers added one run in the fifth and two more in the sixth to take a 4 to 0 lead.
Cooper Pratt drove in two runs and lifted a sacrifice fly. The 22 year old rookie collected two hits in three at bats on the biggest stage in the sport.
Pratt became the first rookie ever to drive in multiple runs in three straight World Series games. One night earlier, his four hit game nearly carried Milwaukee to a sweep.
William Contreras drove in a run with a double and scored once. David Hamilton added an RBI of his own from the hot corner.
Manager Pat Murphy saved his highest praise for his catcher. “He’s been incredible,” Murphy said of Contreras. “Both sides of it, catches every inning, that’s not easy.”
The praise turned into hardware in the postgame celebration. Contreras was named World Series MVP after batting .381 across the five games, with eight hits and four runs driven in while catching every inning of the series.
One Win From a Sweep, Then a Clinch
Milwaukee won the first three games of the series. Tampa Bay stayed alive in Game 4 with a 4 to 3 win in twelve innings.
The Rays had no such escape in Game 5. Drew Rasmussen took the loss, and the Tampa Bay bullpen surrendered the insurance runs that put the game away.
The Brewers stormed through October as the top seed in the National League. They knocked out the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers to reach the World Series.
Milwaukee needed just nine games across the final two rounds to finish the job. Tampa Bay, in its third trip to the World Series, is still waiting for a first title of its own.
Fifty Seven Years in the Making
The franchise began play in 1969 as the Seattle Pilots. It moved to Milwaukee one year later and reached the World Series only once, in 1982.
Hall of Famer Robin Yount has long called that 1982 loss his greatest regret. On Wednesday he watched the ending change alongside Paul Molitor, Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder.
Fielder, one of the most feared power hitters in club history, never reached this stage as a player. This time he was in the building to see the job finished.
A Win That Belongs to the Whole City
Milwaukee baseball history runs deep in the Black community. Hank Aaron closed his legendary career in a Milwaukee uniform, hitting his final home runs in this city in 1975 and 1976.
That thread runs straight to the present roster. Third baseman David Hamilton drove in a run in the clincher, while Tampa Bay outfielder Chandler Simpson drove in the only Rays run of the night.
The celebration now heads home. A championship parade is set for Friday in downtown Milwaukee, traveling down Wisconsin Avenue to the lakefront.
Brewers officials expect a crowd of at least 400,000 people. For a fan base that waited fifty seven years, that estimate may turn out to be low.
Small market. A payroll that ranked nineteenth in the majors. None of it mattered when the final out settled into a glove in St. Petersburg.
The Milwaukee Brewers are World Series champions at last.
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