The Milwaukee Brewers have won the World Series for the first time in the franchise's 57-year history, defeating the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in Game 5 in Florida on Wednesday to clinch the best-of-seven Fall Classic 4-1. The victory marks the Brewers' first championship since entering Major League Baseball in 1969 as the Seattle Pilots before relocating to Milwaukee after one season.
Milwaukee, which operates in MLB's smallest market and carried the 19th-highest payroll among 30 teams this season, finished the regular season with the league's best record for the second consecutive year. The Brewers then dominated the postseason, going 11-3 overall, including a sweep of the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series to reach the 122nd World Series.
Catcher William Contreras was named World Series Most Valuable Player, becoming the eighth catcher to win the award and the third Venezuelan. The 28-year-old, who also helped Venezuela win the World Baseball Classic in March, delivered a key double and scored a run in Game 5 as the Brewers built a 4-0 lead.
Milwaukee won the first two games at home in Wisconsin and the third in Florida before the Rays, the American League's top seed, forced a fifth game. In the clincher, the Brewers struck first in the second inning when a Cooper Pratt single brought home Brice Turang. They added another run in the fifth on a David Hamilton hit, then doubled their lead in the same inning on Contreras' double and a Pratt sacrifice fly.
Starting pitcher Jacob Misiorowski departed after the sixth inning. Tampa Bay finally scored in the ninth when Chandler Simpson doubled home Liam Hicks, but the Brewers held on for the historic victory.
