World Series 2026: Brewers beat Rays in Game 5 to win first title in franchise's 57-year history

A 57-year wait is over. The Milwaukee Brewers are World Series champions for the first time in franchise history.The Brewers completed a dominant postseason run on Wednesday with a 4-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays, winning the 2026 Fall Classic in five games after falling just short of a sweep in Game 4.The decisive game looked like plenty of other Brewers wins. A shutout start by presumptive NL Cy Young Award winner Jacob Misiorowski, who exited only due to cramps. A calm night for an elite bullpen. Production from up and down a pesky and patient lineup.The result ultimately felt inevitable, with every Milwaukee player once again executing their specific job until second baseman Brice Turang threw out Richie Palacios to end the game — and the 2026 MLB season.THERE IT IS! The final out!The @Brewers are your 2026 World Series Champions@MLBONFOX pic.twitter.com/9z890xay2o— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) October 29, 2026 Catcher William Contreras was named World Series MVP, but he might as well have received the award for being the best player of the postseason. The three-time All-Star slashed.373/.448/.588 in 13 games while throwing out six of 13 baserunners and winning 21 of 31 ABS challenges.In the World Series, he hit 8-for-21 (.381) with four RBI, including one on a double in Game 5.WILD BILL PLATES THE CAPTAIN William Contreras puts the Brewers up 3-0 🔥 pic.twitter.com/TabXzkhwAe— MLB (@MLB) October 29, 2026 The Rays were trying to become the first team to come back from down 3-0 in a World Series, and they would have made history just by sending the series back to Milwaukee. No team that fell down 3-0 in the World Series has ever forced a Game 6.In total, the Brewers went 11-2 this postseason, and their only two losses were to teams trying to avoid sweeps. They won eight straight games from Game 4 of the NLDS through Game 3 of the World Series, tying an MLB postseason record.The list of title-less MLB teams is now down to four: the San Diego Padres, Colorado Rockies, Seattle Mariners and, of course, the Rays. The Brewers had been tied with San Diego for the oldest team in the league without a title but no more.This is, however, not the first World Series title in the city of Milwaukee's history, as the Milwaukee Braves won it all in 1957, eight years before they moved to their current home in Atlanta and 13 years before the Brewers came to town after a single season as the Seattle Pilots.The Brewers had reason to be confident in Game 5The Brewers would've certainly preferred to end the series on Tuesday, which would have made them the first team in MLB history to sweep both the championship series and the World Series. The Rays, however, pulled off an out-of-nowhere win in 12 innings.That victory came with a cost. The Rays used every premium arm available to them, as well as presumed Game 5 starter Nick Martinez, who threw 33 pitches and then wasn't available Wednesday. The Brewers, meanwhile, had Misiorowski waiting with a relatively rested bullpen.In Game 5, the Rays started ace Drew Rasmussen on short rest, being aggressive with a pitcher they tried to get extra rest as much as possible during the regular season. Rasmussen wound up throwing four innings but surrendered the first run on a single by Cooper Pratt, who set a World Series rookie record with six straight hits across Games 4 and 5.Cooper Pratt strikes again 🤯He's 5 for his last 6 and gets the Brewers on the board here in Game 5! pic.twitter.com/lSGfvdamUQ— MLB (@MLB) October 29, 2026 More Brewers runs arrived in the fifth and sixth innings, upping the degree of difficulty for the Rays into untenable territory. Two of those runs were driven in by Pratt and No. 9 hitter David Hamilton, marking the latest damage from the bottom of the Brewers' order.In total, the Brewers' Nos. 7, 8 and 9 hitters went 17-for-59 in the series, with nine runs scored and 12 RBI. The team scored 24 runs total. The bottom of the order delivered the Brewers' only three homers of the series.Meanwhile, the only thing that really went wrong in Misiorowski's start was that his calf started cramping in the sixth inning. That brought an abrupt end to his best start of the postseason — 5 2/3 shutout innings, 2 hits, 2 strikeouts — and he finished Milwaukee's playoff run with a 1.89 ERA, not far off from his 1.80 mark in the regular season.Jacob Misiorowski is FIRED UP after finishing his 5th scoreless inning with a strikeout pic.twitter.com/DZ6i2t0WRC— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 29, 2026 Once Misiorowski was out Wednesday, the Brewers' bullpen took over. JoJo Romero got two outs without incident. Abner Uribe got two outs without incident. Closer Trevor Megill got called in for a two-inning save and did allow the Rays' only run on an RBI double by Chandler Simpson in the ninth.Four pitches later, the game was over.The only surprising relief choice was the lack of Aaron Ashby, one of the breakout stars of the postseason. The left-hander was warming as Megill faced Palacios but didn't enter the game after throwing 2 1/3 innings and 31 pitches the previous night.How will these Brewers be remembered?The 2026 Brewers were a team with a clear identity, built on a marriage of new-school analytics and old-school methods they brought back into vogue. They bunted, stole bases, mostly eschewed homers (none in Game 5), emphasized defense and regularly used multi-inning relievers. They also walked more than any other team, pulled their starters early and featured a pitcher with a fastball that has touched 105 mph.It was all executed on a small-market budget by manager Pat Murphy and president of baseball operations Matt Arnold, creating the kind of winner not often seen in modern baseball. It took relentless iteration, as shown by what happens when you rewind to the 2023 Brewers, a 92-win team that won the first of four straight NL Central titles.Corbin Burnes was the staff ace, having won the Cy Young Award in 2021. The No. 2 pitcher was Freddy Peralta. The closer was Devin Williams. Willy Adames led the Brewers in home runs at shortstop. Craig Counsell was manager. David Stearns was still in the building, advising ownership after a tenure as the whiz kid president of baseball operations.All those people left or were traded. Burnes was dealt to the Baltimore Orioles ahead of the 2024 season, before he could leave in free agency. Williams was traded ahead of the 2025 season, before he could leave in free agency. Peralta was traded last offseason, before he could leave in free agency. Adames left in free agency. Counsell left for the Cubs, the NL Central rivals. Stearns went home to New York to run the Mets.And yet, the Brewers persevered, finding and developing even more talent until they became World Series champions.When will we next see baseball?Milwaukee is undeniably a feel-good story, but this team's breakthrough comes with a sour note.It can be plainly said that we don't know when the next MLB game will be played. The 2027 season opener is scheduled for March 24, but that's merely a date on a calendar. Much more real is the upcoming labor fight between MLB's 30 owners and the MLB Players Assocation.The owners have made it clear that they want a salary cap like the NFL, NBA and NHL have. The players have made that a nonstarter for decades and went as far as striking to avoid a cap in 1994. The owners are already preparing for a lockout, and there's no telling how long that will go with both sides completely dug in.It will likely be an ugly offseason. Fans can only hope there's at least a 2027 season after that.