The Milwaukee Brewers won their first World Series championship Wednesday night, defeating the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in Game 5 to take the series 4-1.
It ended a 57-year wait for the franchise, which began as the Seattle Pilots in 1969 and moved to Milwaukee the next year. Milwaukee’s last baseball title came in 1957, when the Braves beat the New York Yankees.
The Brewers finished the regular season 103-59, the best record in Major League Baseball. They went 11-2 in the postseason, beating the San Diego Padres in the National League Division Series and sweeping the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series before topping the Rays.
Jacob Misiorowski started Game 5 and threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits before leaving with a right calf cramp. Rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt had two hits and two RBIs, including a sacrifice fly, and set a World Series record for consecutive hits by a rookie. Jackson Chourio set a five-game Series record with 11 hits. Closer Trevor Megill recorded the final out.
The Rays had forced Game 5 with a 12-inning walk-off win in Game 4. Thousands of Brewers fans filled Tropicana Field, while about 31,000 more watched on the scoreboard at American Family Field in Milwaukee.
“I can’t tell you how many people have told me, ‘I’ve waited my whole life for this,’” captain Christian Yelich said. “I think any time you win a World Series, it changes a place a little bit.”
The Brewers’ only previous World Series appearance was in 1982, when they lost in seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals. Manager Pat Murphy’s team now holds the Commissioner’s Trophy.
