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The Milwaukee Brewers claimed their first championship in franchise history after defeating the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in Game 5 of the 2026 World Series in St. Petersburg, Florida. The matchup marked the first Fall Classic since 1980 where both competing organizations were seeking their inaugural title.
Tampa Bay enter the offseason after coming up short in five games, managed only a single victory in the series via a 12th-inning walk-off in Game 4. Despite falling in the final round, the Rays established themselves as the premier team in the American League during the regular season, amassing 98 wins before sweeping the New York Yankees in the ALDS and defeating the Cleveland Guardians in the ALCS.
Game 5 Pitching Duel and Bullpen Decisive Factors
Rays starter Drew Rasmussen pitched on short rest for the first time in his career, lasting four innings while allowing one run on 60 pitches. Manager Kevin Cash pulled Rasmussen after 12 outs, adhering to a predetermined pitch count limit to protect the pitcher, who has undergone three elbow surgeries. The Rays maintain a $20 million team option for Rasmussen in 2027.
“That guy is a stud,” Cash said afterward. “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. [We] appreciate Drew Rasmussen so much for taking the ball.”
Rasmussen called Milwaukee “the best team I’ve ever played against.”
Brewers starter Jacob Misiorowski pitched 5 ⅔ scoreless innings, allowing only two hits—a single to Junior Caminero in the first inning and another to Chandler Simpson in the fourth—before leaving due to a right calf cramp. Milwaukee expanded its 1-0 lead against Tampa Bay’s bullpen in the fifth when Cooper Pratt, Garrett Mitchell, and David Hamilton delivered consecutive singles off reliever Kevin Kelly. In the sixth, Garrett Cleavinger hit Christian Yelich with a pitch and gave up an RBI double to World Series MVP William Contreras, followed by a sacrifice fly from Pratt off Tyler Wells.
Relievers JoJo Romero, Abner Uribe, and Trevor Megill combined to close out the game for Milwaukee. Tampa Bay managed to break the shutout in the ninth inning following sequential doubles by Hicks and Simpson, but Megill secured the final outs to seal the championship.
Historic Offensive Struggles for Tampa Bay
The Rays struggled at the plate throughout the five-game stretch, accumulating just 12 total runs. Tampa Bay’s lineup batted .182/.224/.242 with a single home run, hit by Hicks in Game 2. The team’s .466 OPS stands as the third-lowest recorded by any team in a World Series of five or more games, trailing only the 1905 Philadelphia Athletics (.386) and the 1969 Baltimore Orioles (.430).
“They’ve got one of the best pitching staffs in baseball, and they’ve got an elite defense, too,” Hicks said. “You combine that, and it makes it really tough.”
“I don’t think we hit how we think we were capable of, but you got to give them credit, too. They were on an unbelievable run.”
Rays closer Bryan Baker offered praise for the champions following the loss.
“It’s one of the best teams I’ve seen at any level, in any sport,” Tampa Bay closer Bryan Baker said in the somber home clubhouse after his team’s 4-1 loss on Wednesday in Game 5.
“There are no holes in that team. They did everything they needed to do to win a World Series. So congrats to them — it was an impressive display of baseball.”
Roster Construction and Future Outlook
Both teams reached the World Series despite modest preseason expectations, as FanGraphs projected both Milwaukee and Tampa Bay to win 81 games entering the season. Tampa Bay built its roster around defensive contributors such as Taylor Walls, Ben Williamson, and Jonny DeLuca, while relying offensively on Caminero, Yandy Diaz, and Jonathan Aranda. The front office supplemented the core through midseason trades for Hicks and starter Freddy Peralta.
“Just proud to be a part of this group,” Baker said. “Coming into the season, we were picked fourth or fifth in the division. I think we outshot that a little bit — proved some people wrong.”
Rays veteran pitcher Nick Martinez reflected on the lessons from the series defeat.
“The perspective should be, [now] we know what it takes to win, right?” veteran right-hander Nick Martinez said afterward. “We didn’t really play to that standard. Watching a team like that, playing against such a high-caliber team like that should elevate guys’ play.”
Tampa Bay remains one of four Major League Baseball franchises that have never won a World Series, despite appearing in the Fall Classic more times than any of the other three winless teams. Off the field, the franchise continues to make progress with its new ownership group toward a proposed ballpark in Tampa, which is targeted for completion by Opening Day in 2029.
