Cooper Pratt's 6-hit streak and Misiorowski anchor Brewers' first championship

Milwaukee Brewers fans at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, erupted in celebration on Wednesday night after their team defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in Game 5 of the World Series. The victory secured the franchise's first championship in 58 seasons and capped a postseason run in which Milwaukee posted an 11-2 record.

The Brewers' small-ball approach defined the series. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the team scored a major league-low 32.1 percent of its runs on home runs. Tampa Bay finished second-lowest at 34.4 percent. The two clubs combined to hit only four home runs across the five games, with three belonging to Milwaukee. This strategy allowed a team that led the majors with 103 regular-season wins to overcome a 4-3 extra-inning loss in Game 4, where they were three outs away from a sweep in the 12th inning.

Jacob Misiorowski anchored the pitching staff with a five and two-thirds inning performance that kept the Rays off the board. The 24-year-old right-hander threw 86 pitches, 58 of them for strikes, and allowed just two hits. He did not record a strikeout in the first three innings, matching his career low, before finishing with two. Misiorowski had previously broken the World Series velocity record with a 103.5 mph fastball on the first pitch of the series. He left the game due to a right calf cramp and received a standing ovation from the crowd.

Cooper Pratt provided the offensive spark for the visitors. The rookie set a Series record with six consecutive hits before his at-bat in the sixth inning. He contributed two runs batted in, including a single against Rays ace Drew Rasmussen in the second inning that gave Milwaukee a 1-0 lead. William Contreras, the World Series MVP, added an RBI double off Garrett Cleavinger in the sixth. Pratt followed with a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 4-0.

Manager Pat Murphy, who survived a heart attack in 2020 and won the National League Manager of the Year award in his first two full seasons, praised the team's unity. Murphy said the 2026 group would be remembered forever because players prioritized winning over individual statistics. Captain Christian Yelich told reporters the feeling was the best ever and that the city had waited a long time for this moment. Owner Mark Attanasio addressed the postgame stage to tell Milwaukee fans they finally had their world championship.

The Rays, an expansion team that debuted in 1998, fell to 0-3 in World Series history. They had previously lost in 2008 and 2020. Tampa Bay became the fifth team in history to lose Game 5 after falling behind 3-0. Manager Kevin Cash described his players as banged up but grateful for their close-knit dynamic during the season. The Brewers had to overcome a shaky bullpen in the late innings, as closer Trevor Megill allowed an RBI double to Chandler Simpson with two outs in the ninth before retiring Richie Palacios on a grounder to end the game.

This championship marks the end of a long wait for Milwaukee, which has only one other MLB title in its history. That victory came in 1957 with the Braves, a franchise that moved to Atlanta before the 1966 season. The Brewers' previous World Series appearance in 1982 ended in a 6-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 7 after they blew a 3-1 lead in the sixth inning. The 1982 team, known as the Wallbangers, featured five Hall of Famers including Robin Yount and Paul Molitor. The 2026 squad has now outlasted that group's legacy, finishing what the 1982 crew could not accomplish 44 years ago.