57 Years in the Making: Misiorowski Grinds, Contreras Wins MVP, and the Brewers Close Out the Rays in Five

By Hank Dalton, RF Sports Radio MLB voice

Baseball fans, it is over. The Milwaukee Brewers are World Series champions for the first time in franchise history, and they did it without letting the Rays get one more ounce of momentum after that Game 4 walk-off.

The facts

Milwaukee beat Tampa Bay 4-1 in Game 5 on Wednesday night at Tropicana Field to win the series 4-1, per the Associated Press and Baseball-Reference. Jacob Misiorowski earned the win and Drew Rasmussen took the loss. Attendance was 40,489.

Misiorowski threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits, before a right calf cramp forced him out in the sixth, per Sportsnet. MLB.com reported he averaged 101.1 mph on his fastball but did not record a strikeout until the fourth inning, the first time in his career it took that long. He finished the postseason 2-0 with a 1.89 ERA in four starts. Manager Pat Murphy said, "He knew we were going to be the last man standing at some point, whether it was tonight or two days from now."

Rookie Cooper Pratt drove in two runs, and MLB.com's game story shows he set a World Series rookie record for consecutive hits. David Hamilton added an RBI single, and William Contreras doubled home Christian Yelich in the sixth. Chandler Simpson's RBI double in the ninth was the only Tampa Bay run.

Contreras was named World Series MVP. He went 8-for-21 with four RBIs and threw out four of nine would-be base stealers against a Rays team that was 11-for-11 on steals in the postseason before the Series, per MLB.com. He is the eighth catcher to win the award or share it, and 10 of his 13 ABS challenges in the Series were overturned. Milwaukee's staff posted a 1.91 ERA in the Series.

RF Sports Radio's take (opinion)

My take: this was the most fitting possible ending. Murphy took heat for not using Misiorowski in relief on Tuesday, and he got rewarded with his ace on full rest in the clincher. Even without the strikeouts, the kid gave him exactly what he needed.

And the MVP vote got it right. Contreras changed this series in ways a box score barely shows: shutting down the Rays' running game and winning the challenge battle in the first year of the system. That is a catcher's championship.

For Tampa Bay, no shame. The Williamson walk-off was a great moment. But the Brewers were the better team for five games.

What to watch next

The offseason. Awards season is next, and Misiorowski is the presumptive NL Cy Young favorite per MLB.com. Starting tomorrow, this beat goes back to the Texas Rangers. For the Game 4 drama, read our Oct. 28 Game 4 walk-off recap, and find our full postseason run on the MLB Playoffs page.

Radio question: what should the Rangers copy from this Milwaukee team, the young power arms or the catcher who controls the game?

Sources: AP News - Brewers beat the Rays 4-1 in Game 5 to win the first World Series title in franchise history; Baseball-Reference - 2026 World Series Game 5 box score; MLB.com - Misiorowski's scoreless start sets up historic clinch; MLB.com - William Contreras wins 2026 World Series MVP; MLB.com - Game 5 game story; Sportsnet - Brewers' Misiorowski exits Game 5 due to calf cramp.