The Brewers Are World Series Champions for the First Time. Small Market, Small Ball, Big Night
Jacob Misiorowski threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings, rookie Cooper Pratt drove in two and Milwaukee beat Tampa Bay 4-1 in Game 5. William Contreras is MVP.
The smallest market in the majors has a ring. The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in Game 5 on Wednesday night at Tropicana Field to win the first World Series title in franchise history, NPR reported from the Associated Press.
Jacob Misiorowski, the 24-year-old two-time All-Star, threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings and allowed two hits before leaving with a right calf cramp. Brewers fans, who had taken over the section behind Milwaukee's dugout for the last three games, gave him a standing ovation. Catcher William Contreras, the Series MVP, hit an RBI double.
The rookie story is ridiculous. Cooper Pratt, 22, who made his major league debut in June, had two more hits and two RBIs and set a World Series rookie record with six straight hits before his sacrifice fly in the sixth. "This is one of the greatest moments of my life. Oh my gosh. It doesn't even feel real," Pratt said. "It only took four months!" Jackson Chourio set a five-game Series record with 11 hits.
Milwaukee bounced back from a brutal Game 4, a 4-3 extra-inning loss when they were three outs from a sweep in the 12th before the bullpen finally gave out.
The history makes it heavier. The franchise is in its 58th season; it started as the Seattle Pilots in 1969 and moved to Milwaukee the next year. Its only other World Series, in 1982, ended when the Brewers blew a 3-1 lead in the sixth inning of Game 7 and lost 6-3 to the Cardinals.
"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. Manager Pat Murphy, 67, who survived a heart attack in 2020 and won NL Manager of the Year in 2024 and 2025, said this team "will be remembered forever" because "they're not worried about their own stats."
Dez's take: Red Sox fans, sit with this one. A team with the smallest market in baseball built a champion out of a 22-year-old called up in June, a flame-throwing kid ace and a catcher. That's the build every front office in a bigger market says it wants. Milwaukee actually did it.
What we still don't know: how bad Misiorowski's calf cramp is, though he's got all winter.
