Contreras drives Brewers to historic 4-1 World Series victory
Jacob Misiorowski threw five scoreless innings as the small-market club ended a 44-year championship drought in front of thousands at Tropicana Field.
By James Mitchell ·
The Milwaukee Brewers are World Series champions after defeating the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 on Wednesday night.
Jacob Misiorowski started on four days rest and threw five and two-thirds scoreless innings. He allowed only two hits before leaving the game due to a right calf cramp. The 24-year-old right-hander finished with 86 pitches, 58 of which were strikes, and no strikeouts in the first three innings. He opened the game with 12 consecutive four-seam fastballs, ranging from 100.9 to 103 miles per hour.
Rookie Cooper Pratt provided the offensive production. He recorded two hits and two runs batted in. Pratt set a World Series rookie record with six consecutive hits before flying out in sacrifice duty in the sixth inning. Jackson Chourio holds a five-game Series record with 11 total hits. The team combined for just four home runs in the entire postseason, with Milwaukee accounting for three.
William Contreras, the Series Most Valuable Player, hit an RBI double in the sixth inning off Garrett Cleavinger. Misiorowski received a standing ovation from the Brew-Crew section behind the dugout. Captain Christian Yelich told reporters the team was happy to bring the title home to fans who waited a long time.
Manager Pat Murphy, who survived a heart attack in 2020, led the team to 103 regular season wins. The Brewers went 11-2 in the postseason, including seven comeback victories. They swept the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series. This is the first World Series title for the franchise, which began as the Seattle Pilots in 1969 and moved to Milwaukee in 1970. Their only other previous appearance in 1982 ended in a loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Rays dropped to 0-3 in World Series history after losses in 2008 and 2020. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only the Brooklyn Dodgers and Detroit Tigers have lost their first three Series appearances. Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said the group is close-knit and grateful for their season. The team is an expansion club that debuted in 1998.
The game ended when closer Trevor Megill retired Richie Palacios on a grounder to second base. Megill had allowed an RBI double to Chandler Simpson in the ninth inning. JoJo Romero and Abner Uribe combined for four outs in the middle innings. The Brewers lead the majors with 103 wins, a total that underscores their dominance in a market with the smallest payroll ranking in the bottom half of the league.
Owners are currently pushing for a salary cap, arguing that small-market teams struggle to succeed without it. A potential management lockout could start December 2. The Brewers ranked 19th in payroll as of August 31, while the Rays ranked 25th. This matchup marked the first Series since 1991 between two teams from the bottom half of the payroll rankings.
