Brewers Beat Rays 4-1 in Game 5 to Win First World Series Title in Franchise History

Updated 03:53 UTC: Catcher William Contreras was named World Series MVP after Milwaukee closed out the title in Game 5.

The Milwaukee Brewers won the first World Series championship in franchise history, beating the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in Game 5 at Tropicana Field to win the series four games to one. Jacob Misiorowski held Tampa Bay scoreless into the sixth inning, rookie Cooper Pratt drove in two runs, and Trevor Megill recorded the final six outs. Richie Palacios grounded out to end the game and start the celebration for a franchise that began play in 1969 without ever winning the title.

Misiorowski delivers, then hands it to the bullpen

Misiorowski, 24, allowed two hits and one walk over five and two-thirds scoreless innings, striking out two on 86 pitches. He left in the bottom of the sixth after appearing to hurt his right leg, walking off under his own power. JoJo Romero finished the sixth, Abner Uribe threw a scoreless seventh, and Megill worked the last two innings, allowing the only Tampa Bay run in the ninth. Misiorowski won Game 1 of the series. He finished the regular season 16-5 with a 1.80 ERA and 252 strikeouts, and he is the front-runner for the National League Cy Young Award.

Manager Pat Murphy had saved his ace for this start after the Brewers, three outs from the title in Game 4, lost in the 12th inning. "You can't blow that type of situation on a one-run lead on the road," Murphy said of holding Misiorowski back, according to USA Today.

Pratt again in the middle of the scoring

Milwaukee scored in the second inning when Brice Turang doubled, Sal Frelick was hit by a pitch, and Pratt singled Turang home against Drew Rasmussen. In the fifth, Pratt singled, went to third on a single by Garrett Mitchell, and scored on a single by David Hamilton. The Brewers added two runs in the sixth: Christian Yelich was hit by a pitch and scored on a double by William Contreras, and Pratt drove in Contreras with a sacrifice fly. Pratt finished with two hits and two runs batted in, and he drove in seven runs in the series. Contreras drove in four runs across the five games.

Rasmussen took the loss, allowing one run on two hits over four innings on short rest, with four strikeouts.

Rays go quietly until the ninth

Tampa Bay collected four hits and put runners at second and third in the fourth inning, but Hamilton threw out Ben Williamson at first base to end the inning. In the ninth, Megill struck out Junior Caminero, Liam Hicks doubled, Jonny DeLuca struck out, and Chandler Simpson doubled Hicks home to cut the lead to 4-1. Palacios then grounded out against Megill for the final out. The Rays were also chasing their first title, and their wait will now run to at least 2027.

The road to the title

Milwaukee won the first three games of the series, 3-2, 5-4 and 10-1, before Tampa Bay took Game 4 by 4-3 in 12 innings on Tuesday. The Brewers entered the postseason as the top seed in the National League and swept the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. They won the two series in nine games combined, closing the title on the road one night after the Game 4 celebration was cancelled in the 12th inning.

Contreras named World Series MVP

William Contreras was named World Series MVP after the Game 5 win. Contreras hit .381 with four runs batted in across the five games, according to theScore and Bleacher Report, and he handled the Milwaukee pitching staff behind the plate throughout the series. He is the eighth catcher to win the award and the first since Salvador Perez in 2015, according to theScore and TSN. Manager Pat Murphy had called Contreras the most important Brewer, telling USA Today: "There is no one more important doing the job for us bigger than William."