The Milwaukee Brewers are World Series champions for the first time in franchise history. Milwaukee beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in Game 5 on Wednesday night, October 28, 2026, at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, closing out the series 4-1 — just 24 hours after Tampa Bay had kept its season alive with a dramatic 12-inning win in Game 4.
The short version: there was no hangover from Game 4, no wobble, and no doubt by the end. Milwaukee’s young pitching staff shut Tampa Bay down, catcher William Contreras drove in the run that broke the game open, and the Brewers finally finished a season that had belonged to them from the start.
How Game 5 was won
Milwaukee’s rookie ace Jacob Misiorowski, nicknamed “Miz,” set the tone by not allowing a run over 5.2 innings. The Brewers’ bullpen took care of the rest, continuing a postseason in which Milwaukee’s pitchers allowed just 12 runs in the entire five-game World Series — 12 runs in 48 innings.
Contreras delivered the key hit: an RBI double in the sixth inning that scored Christian Yelich and made it 3-0. Cooper Pratt, the rookie shortstop who had homered to give Milwaukee the lead in Game 4’s 12th inning, also drove in two runs in Game 5, including a sacrifice fly. Trevor Megill recorded the final out, 44 years after Milwaukee’s only previous World Series appearance, a loss in 1982.
Why Contreras won MVP
Contreras was named World Series MVP, the first in Brewers history, after batting .381 (8-for-21) with four RBIs, two runs, two walks and a stolen base across the five games, according to Reuters and USA Today reporting. His RBI double in Game 5 was his biggest hit of the series.
But the award was about more than batting. Contreras started every game of the postseason behind the plate, threw out four runners trying to steal in the first four games of the Series — the first catcher to do that since Lance Parrish in 1984 — and turned Major League Baseball’s new automated ball-strike challenge system into a weapon, winning 10 of 13 challenges during the World Series, according to Reuters.
“He posts every day,” reliever Aaron Ashby said. “This team’s not what it is without this guy. He’s unbelievable.”
A dream year for Contreras
The title completed a remarkable year for Contreras. In March, he won the World Baseball Classic with his native Venezuela — the country’s first WBC title — and he draped a Venezuelan flag over his shoulders while celebrating on the field in St. Petersburg.
What comes next for baseball
For baseball as a whole, uncertainty follows: the collective bargaining agreement expires in less than five weeks, and a lockout is widely expected over a salary cap dispute.
Key takeaways
- Game 5 result: Brewers 4, Rays 1, on October 28 at Tropicana Field; Milwaukee wins the series 4-1.
- First World Series title in Brewers franchise history; previous appearance was a loss in 1982.
- MVP: William Contreras, .381 (8-for-21), 4 RBIs; eighth catcher to win the award, second since 1992.
- Game 5 pitching: Jacob Misiorowski, 5.2 scoreless innings; Milwaukee allowed only 12 runs in the whole Series.
- Contreras also won the World Baseball Classic with Venezuela in March 2026.
- Next for MLB: a labour showdown, with the collective bargaining agreement expiring in under five weeks.
Bottom line: Milwaukee did not just win a World Series — it won one the way it won all season, with depth, defence and a catcher who made everyone around him better. Forty-four years of waiting ended in one 4-1 night.
