Brewers Defeat Rays 4-1 to Claim First Championship in 58 Seasons
Jacob Misiorowski pitched five scoreless innings as the small-market club ended a long wait for a title at Tropicana Field.
By Rafael Bailey ·
The Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 on Wednesday night to win their first World Series title in franchise history. The victory at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, concluded a best-of-seven series that pitted the two lowest-ranked payrolls in Major League Baseball against each other.
Jacob Misiorowski, the Brewers' 24-year-old ace, threw 5 2/3 innings of scoreless pitching to secure the win. The right-hander recorded 58 strikes in 86 pitches and allowed only two hits. He left the game in the sixth inning due to a right calf cramp. Misiorowski finished the series with a 0.84 ERA and two wins in four starts.
Cooper Pratt, a rookie who made his major league debut in June, delivered two hits and two runs batted in. He set a World Series record by collecting six consecutive hits over the five-game span. Jackson Chourio also set a record with 11 total hits in the series. William Contreras, named Series MVP, contributed an RBI double in the sixth inning.
The final score was 4-1, with the Brewers extending their lead from 1-0 to 4-0 in the sixth inning. Pratt reached base safely in the second and fifth innings before sacrificing in fly in the sixth. Contreras hit a double off Garrett Cleavinger to add to the margin. Trevor Megill closed the game, retiring Richie Palacios on a grounder to end the contest.
Manager Pat Murphy, 67, guided the team to its first championship. Murphy survived a heart attack in 2020 and won the National League Manager of the Year award in both 2024 and 2025. He credited the group's unity over individual statistics. The franchise began as the Seattle Pilots in 1969 and moved to Milwaukee in 1970. Their previous appearance in 1982 ended in a loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Brewers finished the regular season with 103 wins, the most in the league. They went 11-2 in the postseason, including a sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. The team scored only 32.1% of its runs on home runs, the lowest percentage in Major League Baseball according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
The Rays, an expansion team that began play in 1998, are now 0-3 in their World Series history. They join the Brooklyn Dodgers and Detroit Tigers as the only other clubs to lose in their first three appearances. Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash noted the team's resilience despite the loss. The Rays had a 4-0 lead in Game 2 but failed to hold it, losing 5-4.
Owner Mark Attanasio told fans from the postgame stage that Milwaukee had waited 44 years for the championship. The win comes as baseball owners push for a salary cap, arguing that small-market teams struggle to compete. The Brewers ranked 19th in payroll as of August 31, while the Rays ranked 25th. A potential lockout could begin December 2 and may affect the 2027 season.
