Brewers Win First World Series Title, Defeat Rays 4-1 in Game 5

The Milwaukee Brewers are World Series champions for the first time.

Milwaukee beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in Game 5 on Wednesday night at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, clinching the 2026 World Series in five games and delivering the Brewers their first title since the franchise began play in 1969.

The championship carries broader meaning in Milwaukee, too. It is the city’s first baseball title since the Milwaukee Braves won the World Series in 1957, ending a 69-year wait for a champion in a city with deep baseball roots.

The clincher followed the formula that made the Brewers the best team in the majors all season: strong pitching, quick offense and no late opening for the opponent. Milwaukee got ahead early and never gave up the lead, finishing with four runs on eight hits while holding Tampa Bay to one run on two hits.

Rookie right-hander Jacob Misiorowski set the tone in Game 5. He worked 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits, one walk and two strikeouts on 86 pitches before leaving in the sixth with a right calf cramp. Milwaukee’s bullpen took it from there. JoJo Romero, Abner Uribe and Trevor Megill combined to close out the final 3 1/3 innings and secure the championship.

Tampa Bay starter Drew Rasmussen kept the Rays within reach for a while, allowing one earned run on two hits across four innings, but the AL champions never mounted much offense against Milwaukee’s staff.

That was a fitting finish to a season the Brewers controlled almost from start to end. Milwaukee went 103-59 in the regular season, the best record in Major League Baseball in 2026, and carried that form through October. The Brewers beat the San Diego Padres in the National League Division Series, then swept the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series before finishing off the Rays in five games.

Tampa Bay arrived in the World Series with the American League’s best record and avoided a sweep by winning Game 4, 4-3 in 12 innings, on Tuesday night. But Milwaukee answered immediately in Game 5 and left no doubt in the rematch.

The title is the first in Brewers history, but it was not a breakthrough built on a surprise run. Milwaukee entered October as baseball’s top regular-season team and completed the job against a Rays club that had also spent the year among the sport’s elite.

Before the clincher, Brewers manager Pat Murphy had framed the moment through the difficulty of the postseason grind. “When you’re achieving something like this, it’s going to have its adversity,” he said after Game 4.

One night later, the Brewers had their answer — and finally, their championship.