Brewers Win First World Series in Franchise History With 4-1 Game 5 Victory

The Milwaukee Brewers are World Series champions for the first time in franchise history after beating the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in Game 5 at Tropicana Field on Wednesday night to clinch the series 4-1. Milwaukee scored in the second inning to take the lead, added another run in the fifth, and then struck twice in the sixth to build a 4-0 advantage that the Rays never looked like overturning. Christian Yelich was hit by a pitch to open the sixth before William Contreras doubled him home, and rookie Cooper Pratt brought Contreras in with a sacrifice fly for his seventh RBI of the series. Jacob Misiorowski, the 24-year-old ace who started the clincher, was superb for five and two-thirds scoreless innings before leaving with what the Brewers called a right calf cramp, and the bullpen finished the job. Tampa Bay avoided the shutout when Chandler Simpson drove in a run in the bottom of the ninth, but it was only a consolation. The title ends a wait stretching back to the franchise's debut as the Seattle Pilots in 1969, while the Rays, beaten finalists for a third time, must wait at least another year for a first championship of their own.