Brewers Take Title as Payroll Debate Looms
Milwaukee's championship arrives as Major League Baseball owners push for a salary cap and a Dec. 2 lockout threatens the 2027 season.
By John Wilson ·
The Milwaukee Brewers won the World Series on Wednesday night, beating the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in Game 5 to claim the franchise's first championship in its 58th season. The title arrived as Major League Baseball owners press the players' association for a salary cap, arguing small-market clubs cannot compete consistently. A management lockout is scheduled to begin Dec. 2 and could affect the 2027 season.
Milwaukee ranked 19th in payroll as of Aug. 31 and Tampa Bay ranked 25th, making this the first Series since 1991 between two teams in the bottom half of payrolls. The Brewers led the majors with 103 regular-season wins and finished 11-2 in the postseason, with seven comeback wins and a four-game sweep of the Dodgers in the NLCS.
Right-hander Jacob Misiorowski started on four days' rest and worked 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits before leaving with a right calf cramp. He opened the game with 12 straight four-seamers between 100.9 and 103 mph and threw 86 pitches, 58 for strikes. The 22-year-old finished the Series 2-0 with a 0.84 ERA.
Rookie Cooper Pratt singled in the second inning to put Milwaukee ahead and added an RBI single in the fifth before a sacrifice fly in the sixth extended the lead to 4-0. Pratt set a Series rookie record with six consecutive hits. Jackson Chourio set a five-game Series record with 11 hits.
Trevor Megill pitched the final two innings for the save. Chandler Simpson hit an RBI double with two outs in the ninth, and Megill retired Richie Palacios on a grounder to second to end it. William Contreras added an RBI double in the sixth.
The franchise began as the Seattle Pilots in 1969 and moved to Milwaukee the following year. Its only previous Series appearance came in 1982, when Milwaukee lost Game 7 to St. Louis 6-3 after holding a 3-1 lead in the sixth inning. The Milwaukee Braves won the city's other MLB championship in 1957 before moving to Atlanta after the 1965 season. The Rays fell to 0-3 in Series appearances after losses in 2008 and 2020.
Source: NBC Chicago
