World Series: Brewers Best Rays, Win First Title

The Brewers receiving the Commissioner's Trophy after beating the Rays in the 2026 World Series

Photo by Frank Micelotta/Fox Sports via Getty Images

October 28, 2026

Brewers 4, Rays 1 — 2026 World Series Game Five

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Oct 28) — The Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays, 4–1, Wednesday night to secure the first World Series championship in franchise history.

Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski dominated the Rays, holding them scoreless on two hits with a walk and two strikeouts before leaving the game after 5 2/3 innings due to a leg cramp. JoJo Romero and Abner Uribe combined for 1 1/3 innings of scoreless, hitless relief, striking out one while allowing no walks.

Brewers catcher William Contreras won the Willie Mays World Series MVP award after batting .381 and hitting safely in four of the five games. Additionally, he gunned down four of nine would-be basestealers and was successful on 10-of-13 ABS challenges.

Brewers – Rays Game Summary

The Brewers took a 1–0 lead against Rays starter Drew Rasmussen on an RBI single by Cooper Pratt in the second. They extended their lead to 2–0 in the top of the fifth on a single to right-center by David Hamilton.

It became a 4–0 game in the top of the sixth. A Contreras double scored Yelich from first. Contreras advanced to third on a Brice Turang single down the left-field line before a foul fly by Pratt was deep enough to become a sacrifice fly, scoring Contreras.

In the ninth, with Brewers closer Trevor Megill on the mound for a second inning, the Rays avoided a shutout. Liam Hicks hit a grounder down the first-base line that hit the bag on the front corner. The ball caromed into shallow right, allowing Hicks to reach second with a bizarre double. Chandler Simpson doubled him home with two outs, bringing up Richie Palacios as the final hope for the Rays. He grounded one off the knuckles towards second. Turang gloved it and threw to first for the championship-clinching out.

What Went Right for the Brewers

Dominant Pitching

Beginning with Misiorowski, Brewers pitchers dominated the Rays. Only the leg cramp kept Misiorowski from going any deeper than he did. After his exit, Romero and Uribe combined for 1 1/3 innings of hitless, scoreless relief. Megill tossed one scoreless inning before allowing a consolation run in the ninth.

Postgame, when asked about the Rays’ offensive struggles, Cash did not even let the question finish. He said, “Milwaukee Brewers pitching, it’s as simple as that.” He later added, “Tonight we ran into a team that had elite starting pitching. Very good pitching. And then as elite of a bullpen as I’ve ever seen.”

Clutch Hitting

With eight hits, a walk, and two hit batsman, the Brewers had 11 baserunners on the night. Four scored. One was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double, and another was erased by a double play. Five runners were left on base, with three of the five being in scoring position. As a team, the Brewers hit 3-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

Never Looked Back

The Brewers took a 1–0 lead in the second, made it 2–0 in the fifth, and added two more runs in the sixth. The ninth-inning consolation run made their ultimate victory margin three runs. Most importantly, however, the Rays never even had the tying run on deck from the bottom of the sixth onward.

What Went Wrong for the Brewers

Very little. They did have two errors on defense. Additionally, Jake Bauers grounded into a seventh-inning double play, and Megill gave up the ninth-inning run. However, none of these were consequential to the ultimate outcome. Since the Brewers went on to close out the first championship in franchise history, none of the “what went wrong” mattered very much.

What Went Right for the Rays

Stayed Close for the First Five

At the end of the first, the game was 0–0. It was 1–0 at the end of the second, and that score held until the Brewers added another run in the top of the fifth. Not until the sixth did the Rays fall behind by more than two runs.

Rasmussen Gave Everything He Had

Rasmussen, pitching on three-days’ rest, lasted four innings. After throwing 48 pitches, he allowed one run on two hits, walking none and striking out four. Rays manager Kevin Cash said of his effort, “He’s a stud. That guy is a stud. His stuff was as sharp as it could have been. We had gone into the game saying it was 60 pitches or four innings. Stuck to that. That was the easiest call in the world to take him out of the ballgame. We’ve worked very hard with all of our pitchers and pride ourselves on doing right by them. We knew this was a big ask, but I appreciate Drew Rasmussen so much for taking the ball, wanting the ball, and doing what he did.”

Avoided the Shutout

It is of small solace to the Rays and their fans, but they did avoid being shutout with their ninth-inning run.

What Went Wrong for the Rays

Ran into a Buzzsaw

The Rays won 98 games in the regular season and were deserving AL pennant-winners. However, the Brewers were not to be denied. The Rays ran into a team that went 11–2 in the postseason and, from Labor Day (September 7) onward, went 26–5 in all games.

Missed Opportunities

The Rays went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position. They left six total runners on base, four of whom were in scoring position. Notably, in the fourth, they left runners on second and third and left a runner on third in the seventh.

Quotes

“Congratulations to the Milwaukee Brewers. Mark Attanasio, Matt Arnold, his staff, certainly Pat Murphy, that coaching staff, and maybe most importantly, all the Brewers players. That’s a heck of a regular season they went through. They showed why they were the best team and world champs now throughout this postseason. So congrats to the Milwaukee Brewers.” — Rays manager Kevin Cash prior to the postgame press conference

“People can talk about dreams or whatever, but it’s the thoughts that — you put your mind on something, you have a vision. When you have a vision when you’re young, it might not be the exact vision of winning a World Series champion as a manager. I didn’t have that vision. But I had visions and followed them, and I wouldn’t be denied. I didn’t let what other people said keep me from going after things. I learned from them. Wasn’t afraid to learn. I wasn’t afraid to be wrong. Wasn’t afraid to stick my foot in my mouth. I’m still continuing to do that from time to time. But it’s acting in spite of that fear and keeping going that enables you to then think about, hey, Cooperstown will remember the 2026 Brewers.” — Brewers manager Pat Murphy to the youngsters who have a dream of winning the World Series

“It’s everything I’ve ever dreamed of, man. I’ve been thinking about this moment for a long time. I’m just happy and blessed that Murphy gave me the ball there in the eighth and allowed me to go out for the ninth.” — Brewers closer Trevor Megill on being on the mound for the final out of the first-ever Brewers World Series championship

Quick Hits

This was the first championship in Milwaukee Brewers franchise history. The Brewers began play in 1969 as the Seattle Pilots before moving to Milwaukee days before Opening Day 1970 and becoming the Brewers. However, it is Milwaukee’s second World Series championship as a city. The Milwaukee Braves debuted in 1953 after moving from Boston and won the 1957 World Series. They ultimately left for Atlanta following the 1965 season.

Prior to this World Series, among the five teams that had yet to win the World Series, the Brewers had come the closest. They lost Game Seven of the 1982 World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals after having led, 3–1, heading into the bottom of the sixth. However, the Cardinals scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth and two in the bottom of the eighth en route to a 6–3 win. Now that the Brewers have won a championship, the Rays have this distinction among the four titleless teams. They lost Game Six of the 2020 World Series, 3–1, after having led, 1–0, heading into the bottom of the sixth.

The other three teams without a championship are the San Diego Padres, the Colorado Rockies, and the Seattle Mariners. What is the closest each have come to winning the whole thing? The Padres lost the 1984 World Series in five games, the Rockies were swept in their only World Series appearance (2007), and the still-pennantless Mariners lost Game Seven of the 2025 ALCS.

Since they closed this championship on the road, the Brewers are now the fourth championship-winning franchise that has never closed out a title at home. They join the Chicago Cubs (1907, 1908, 2016), Montréal Expos/Washington Nationals (2019), and Washington Senators II/Texas Rangers (2023).

Looking Ahead

Misiorowski earned the win as Rasmussen took the loss. There was no save.

The Brewers went 11–2 in the postseason. This gives them a total of 114 wins in the regular season and postseason combined. In the Wild Card Era (1995 onward), this ties them with the 2016 Chicago Cubs for most by an NL World Series champion and ties them for fourth-most by any World Series champion. Only the 1998 New York Yankees (114 RS, 11 PS), 2018 Boston Red Sox (108 RS, 11 PS), and 2022 Houston Astros (106 RS, 11 PS) had more total combined wins.