The small-ball Milwaukee Brewers, playing in the smallest market in the major leagues, won the World Series for the first time in franchise history.
Hey Milwaukee: Grab a kid, raise a beer, and get ready for the parade.
Young ace Jacob Misiorowski threw 5 2/3 two-hit, scoreless innings, rookie Cooper Pratt added two hits and two RBIs, and the Brewers defeated the Tampa Bay Heroes 4-1 in Game 5 on Wednesday night in front of fans at Tropicana Field.
Misiorovsky left the game with right calf cramps. He received a standing ovation from the Brew-Crew fans, who have occupied the area behind the Milwaukee dugout for the past three games.
The 22-year-old Platt set a rookie record in the series with six consecutive hits before a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning. Jackson Chourio set a five-game series record with 11 hits.
The Seattle Pilots were founded in 1969 and moved to Milwaukee the following year. The team won the World Series championship in its 58th season. The Brewers last went to the World Series in 1982, but they lost 6-3 to the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 7 after leading 3-1 in the sixth inning, ending in heartbreaking fashion.
But Pat Murphy’s team has showcased the resilience of the 67-year-old head coach, who survived a heart attack in 2020 and won the NFC Coach of the Year award in his first two full seasons at the helm in 2024 and 2025.
With the 24-year-old two-time All-Star on the mound, the Brewers bounced back from a heartbreaking 4-3 overtime loss in Game 4 when they went three-and-out in the 12th inning, but the outstanding bullpen eventually faltered.
Mize rested four days for the fifth time in 34 starts this season, including the postseason, his longest absence since pitching 6 1/3 innings against the Cubs on Sept. 8. Leg cramps also forced him to miss two games earlier in the season.
Misiorovsky, who broke the World Series velocity record with a 103.5 mph fastball in Game 1 of the series last Friday, opened the game with 12 consecutive four-seam hits ranging from 100.9-103 mph. He scored two highest scores of 103 runs in 86 deliveries and 58 bats.
Misiorovsky went the first three innings without a strikeout for the first time in his short career and finished with two runs, tying his career low. He was enraged after Yandy Diaz missed a cutter at the end of the fifth inning. Miz pumped his fist twice, punched it in the air, and walked off the mound.
The NL Cy Young Award favorite allowed one run in five innings to earn his first postseason victory as a starter in a 3-2 victory in the series opener. He was 2-0 in the series with an ERA of 0.84.
JoJo Romero struck out two, Abner Uribe had two more, and closer Trevor Megill pitched the final two innings, allowing Chandler Simpson to have an RBI double with two outs in the ninth.
Megill, who retired Rich Palacios on a grounder to end the game at second, raised his arms and was mobbed by teammates near the mound as Brewers fans celebrated in the stands.
Platt hit a 4-for-5 solo home run in the 12th inning of Game 4 to give the Brewers a 1-0 lead in Game 2 off Rays ace Drew Rasmussen. Platt got his sixth straight hit in the fifth inning, scoring on Kevin Kelly’s single by David Hamilton.
In the sixth inning, William Contreras hit an RBI double off Garrett Cleavinger and Pratt hit a fly ball to extend Milwaukee’s lead to 4-0.
After three days off, Rasmussen pitched deeper than in Game 2, allowing one run and two hits in four innings. He had a 4-0 lead before hitting the bases in Milwaukee on Saturday but couldn’t hold on to it, lasting just 3 2/3 innings as the Brewers won 5-4.
Rasmussen retired the first four batters before Brice Turang lined a double to left-center. After Sal Frilick was hit by a pitch, Platt hit an RBI single to center but was thrown out on a nice play between first and second. Rasmussen struck out Garrett Mitchell in hopes of stranding a runner on third.
The Rays had runners on second and third with two outs in the fourth, but Ben Williamson’s bunt hit to third. Williamson, who went 1-for-15 in the postseason, hit an RBI game-winner in the 12th inning of Game 4 with a leadoff victory over left-hander Palacios.
Kelly replaced Rasmussen to start the fifth inning and allowed back-to-back singles to Platt, Mitchell and Hamilton.
The two teams combined for just four home runs, including three from Milwaukee. The Brewers have the lowest home run rate in the majors at 32.1 percent, while Tampa Bay has the second-lowest home run rate at 34.4 percent, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
The Brewers led the majors with 103 wins in the regular season, went 11-2 in the postseason, including seven come-from-behind wins, and swept the mighty Dodgers in the NLCS.
Milwaukee’s only other MLB championship was won by the Braves in 1957, who moved to Atlanta for the 1966 season.
Murphy’s team accomplished what Harvey Kuenn’s star-studded team failed to accomplish 44 years ago as American League champions. Harvey’s Geckos had five Hall of Famers: Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, Ted Simmons, Don Sutton and Rollie Fingers. But Finks missed the postseason with a forearm injury. Also in the broadcast room is Hall of Famer Bob Uecker.
The Rays, an expansion team that debuted in 1998, fell to 0-3 in the World Series after losses in 2008 and 2020. According to Elias Sports Bureau, the only clubs that have lost the first three series are the Brooklyn Dodgers (0-7) and the Detroit Tigers (0-4).
This could be the last MLB game for a long time.
The Brewers won the World Series at a time when the owners were asking the Players Association for a salary cap because they believed small-market teams couldn’t succeed on a regular basis. A management hiatus could begin on December 2 and could threaten the 2027 season.
This is the first series since 1991 between teams in the bottom half of the salary rankings. As of August 31, the Brewers ranked 19th and the Rays ranked 25th.
The Rays were trying to become the first team to fall behind 3-0 in the World Series and force a Game 6. Of the 26 teams that trailed 3-0, 21 were swept, and Tampa Bay became the fifth team to lose its fifth game.