ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The small-ball Milwaukee Brewers playing in the smallest market in the majors are World Series champions for the first time in franchise history.
Hey, Milwaukee: grab a brat, raise a beer and prepare for that parade.
Young ace Jacob Misiorowski threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings of two-hit ball, rookie Cooper Pratt got two more hits and two RBIs, and the Brewers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in Game 5 on Wednesday night to set off a long-awaited celebration among thousands of Brewers fans in attendance at Tropicana Field.
Misiorowski left the game because of a right calf cramp. He got a standing ovation from the Brew-Crew fans, who took over the section behind Milwaukee’s dugout for the last three games.
The 22-year-old Pratt set a Series rookie record with six straight hits before a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning. Jackson Chourio set a five-game Series record with 11 hits.
The World Series title comes in the 58th season for a franchise that began as the Seattle Pilots in 1969 and moved to Milwaukee the following year. The Brewers’ only previous trip to the World Series in 1982 ended in heartbreak when they blew a 3-1 lead in the sixth inning of Game 7 and lost 6-3 to the St. Louis Cardinals.
