They finally did it. The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4–1 in Game 5 on Wednesday night at Tropicana Field, winning the franchise's first World Series title in 57 years. After Tampa Bay's wild 12-inning escape the night before, many wondered if the Rays had found some magic. Milwaukee shut that conversation down pretty quickly.
The hero was a familiar face. Rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt, who hit that extra-inning homer in Game 4 that almost ended things a night early, singled off Rays ace Drew Rasmussen in the second to put Milwaukee on the board. He singled again in the fifth, came around to score on a David Hamilton hit, and added a sacrifice fly in the sixth. William Contreras chipped in a two-run double that same inning, and Contreras ended up as World Series MVP after hitting .381 in the series.
On the mound, Jacob Misiorowski threw five scoreless innings before a right calf cramp forced him out with two outs in the sixth. Then the bullpen did what it's done all month. JoJo Romero, Abner Uribe and Trevor Megill handled the rest, allowing just one run. Milwaukee's relievers finished October with a 1.34 ERA.
What makes this one special is the road it took. The Brewers went 11–2 in the playoffs, got past San Diego, swept the two-time defending champion Dodgers and then handled Tampa Bay. They did it with only the 19th-highest payroll in baseball, and they ranked 28th in home runs. Their last trip to the World Series was in 1982, when they lost in seven.
