Brewers Beat Rays in Game 5 to Win First World Series Title

The Milwaukee Brewers are World Series champions for the first time. They beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in Game 5 on Wednesday at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, closing out a 57-season wait for a title.

Closer Trevor Megill got a soft ground ball for the final out, and the Brewers poured out of the dugout to celebrate. Shortstop Cooper Pratt, speaking on Fox, said: "This is one of the greatest moments of my life. Oh my gosh. It doesn't even feel real. This is surreal."

The franchise moved from Seattle to Milwaukee and played its first season as the Brewers in 1970. It did not reach the World Series until 1982, when it lost in seven games. Another 44 years passed before it returned to the Fall Classic.

Milwaukee finished the postseason 12-2, an .857 winning percentage. That is among the best marks since the playoffs expanded in 1995 to include wild-card teams. Only the 1999 New York Yankees and the 2005 Chicago White Sox, who both went 11-1 on their way to titles, were slightly better in percentage terms.

The achievement stands out given the Brewers' circumstances. Milwaukee is the smallest market in MLB, and its payroll ranked 19th among 30 teams. The club trailed in nine of its 12 playoff games but won seven of them. Its offense also changed shape from round to round: seven home runs in the National League Championship Series sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers, but only one homer in building a 3-0 World Series lead over Tampa Bay. In Game 5, the runs came from two singles, a sacrifice fly and a double.

Young starter Jacob Misiorowski threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings in the clincher. "I don't even have words," he told Fox. Tampa Bay scored in the bottom of the ninth, when Chandler Simpson's two-out double drove in Liam Hicks, but a soft grounder ended the game with reliever Aaron Ashby ready in case Megill ran into more trouble. Catcher William Contreras was named Most Valuable Player after driving in four runs and hitting .381 in the Series.

The title followed a dominant season. Milwaukee had the second-best record in baseball at the July All-Star break and finished with an MLB-high and franchise-record 103 wins. It beat San Diego in the divisional round, then swept the two-time defending champion Dodgers, whose payroll was more than double the Brewers'. Milwaukee outscored Los Angeles by 10 runs in that series. The Rays, who had the American League's best regular-season record, were a similar low-spending team chasing their first title.

The World Series began with one-run Milwaukee wins in the first two games, including a Game 2 comeback after trailing 4-0 in the first inning. Game 3 was a 10-1 rout that turned on Christian Yelich's stolen base in the fifth inning. A challenge ruled him safe at second, and the Brewers went on to score eight runs with two outs without hitting a home run. "Best feeling ever," said Yelich, the team captain.

Players from several generations contributed. Yelich, 34, and reliever Brandon Woodruff, 33, were the only holdovers from the 2018 team that came within one win of the World Series. Woodruff earned a save in Game 3 in his first appearance since July 4 because of injuries. In the divisional round, 20-year-old outfielder Jackson Chourio hit a late two-run homer to rescue Milwaukee in its postseason opener, then won the next game with a walk-off single.

Misiorowski, 24, led a pitching staff that allowed the second-lowest team ERA in the majors, backed by a hard-throwing bullpen. "This is just incredible," Megill said. "Ten-year-old me would be so proud." Milwaukee finished the regular season alone atop the standings, and a month later it finished the playoffs on top as well.