Brewers End 44 Year Drought

The Milwaukee Brewers are World Series champions. The team defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in Game 5 on Wednesday night at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. The victory ended a 44 year wait for the franchise.

Jacob Misiorowski pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings for the winner. He allowed only two hits before leaving the game due to a right calf cramp. His fastball reached 103 mph twice during the outing. The 24 year old right hander finished the series with a 0.84 earned run average.

Cooper Pratt drove in two runs with a single and a sacrifice fly. The 22 year old rookie set a single season World Series record with six consecutive hits. William Contreras, the series most valuable player, hit an RBI double to extend the lead. Christian Yelich said the team brought the title home to a city that waited a long time.

Manager Pat Murphy led the team to the championship. Murphy survived a heart attack in 2020 and won the National League Manager of the Year award in 2024 and 2025. He said the 2026 group would be remembered because they prioritized winning over individual statistics.

The Brewers led Major League Baseball with 103 wins in the regular season. They went 11-2 in the playoffs, including a sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. The team scored only 32.1 percent of its runs on home runs, the lowest rate in the majors.

The franchise began as the Seattle Pilots in 1969 before moving to Milwaukee in 1970. Its previous World Series appearance in 1982 ended in a loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. Owner Mark Attanasio addressed the crowd from the field, telling fans that Milwaukee has its world championship.

Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash described his players as grateful for their season. The Rays dropped to 0-3 in World Series history. They are the fifth team to lose Game 5 after falling behind 3-0. A potential lockout is scheduled to start on December 2.