Brewers beat Rays 4-1 to end 44-year title drought
The 19th-ranked team in payroll claimed their first championship against the 25th-ranked opponent as a potential labor lockout looms.
By Alexei Brooks ·
The Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 on Wednesday night to secure the World Series title. The victory marks the first championship in the franchise's 58-year history. The win ends a 44-year wait that began when the Seattle Pilots moved to Milwaukee in 1970.
Jacob Misiorowski threw 5.2 scoreless innings to earn the win. The 24-year-old pitcher allowed two hits and walked off due to a right calf cramp. He threw 86 pitches, 58 of which were strikes. His fastball reached 103 mph, matching the series velocity record he set on the first pitch of the tournament.
Rookie Cooper Pratt drove in two runs and hit safely in every at-bat. He reached base six times in a row, a new single-series rookie record. William Contreras, named World Series MVP, hit an RBI double in the sixth inning. The Brewers scored four runs total, with two coming from Pratt and one each from Contreras and David Hamilton.
Christian Yelich, the team captain, said the victory brings joy to a city that waited a long time. He noted that fans are present at Tropicana Field and expressed eagerness to return to Milwaukee for celebrations. Manager Pat Murphy, who survived a heart attack in 2020, called the 2026 group a team that cares about each other rather than individual statistics.
The Brewers entered the final game after a 4-3 extra-inning loss in Game 4. They had been three outs from a sweep before their bullpen faltered in the 12th inning. Tampa Bay had fallen behind 3-0 in the series. The Rays became the fifth team in history to lose a World Series after dropping the first three games.
The championship comes amid labor disputes in Major League Baseball. Owners are pushing for a salary cap, arguing that small-market teams rarely succeed. A management lockout is expected to begin on December 2. This could threaten the 2027 season, making this title potentially the last for an extended period.
The Brewers finished the regular season with 103 wins, the best in the majors. They posted an 11-2 record in the postseason. The team scored a league-low 32.1% of its runs on home runs. Their payroll ranked 19th in the league as of August 31. The Rays, an expansion team that debuted in 1998, have now lost three World Series in their history.
