Brewers beat the Rays 4-1 in Game 5 to win the first World Series title in franchise history

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — 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.

But Pat Murphy’s team displayed the resilience of the 67-year-old manager, who survived a heart attack in 2020 and was the NL Manager of the Year in his first two full seasons at the helm in 2024 and 2025.

With their flame-throwing, 24-year-old two-time All-Star on the mound, the Brewers rebounded from a heartbreaking, 4-3 extra-inning loss in Game 4 when they were three outs away from a sweep in the 12th before a stellar bullpen finally faltered.

Pitching on four days’ rest for only the fifth time in 34 starts this season, including the playoffs, the Miz had his longest outing since throwing 6 1/3 innings against the Cubs on Sept. 8. Leg cramps also forced him out of two outings earlier in the season.

Misiorowski, who broke the World Series velocity record with a 103.5 mph fastball on the first pitch of the Series last Friday, opened with 12 straight four-seamers between 100.9-103 mph. He topped at 103 twice among his 86 pitches, 58 strikes.

Misiorowski didn’t record a strikeout in the first three innings for the first time in his brief career and finished with two, matching his career low. He was fired up after Yandy Diaz missed a cutter to end the fifth. The Miz pumped his fist twice and punched the air walking off the mound.

The NL Cy Young Award favorite allowed one run over five innings to get his first postseason win as a starter in a 3-2 victory in the series opener. He was 2-0 with a 0.84 ERA in the Series.

JoJo Romero got two outs, Abner Uribe recorded two more and closer Trevor Megill pitched the last two innings, allowing an RBI double to Chandler Simpson with two outs in the ninth.

Megill retired Richie Palacios on a grounder to second to end it, threw his arms in the air and was mobbed by teammates near the mound while Brewers fans celebrated in the stands.

Pratt, who was 4 for 5 with a tiebreaking solo homer in the 12th inning in Game 4, gave the Brewers a 1-0 lead off Rays ace Drew Rasmussen in the second. Pratt singled for his sixth straight hit in the series in the fifth and scored on David Hamilton’s single off Kevin Kelly.

William Contreras hit an RBI double off Garrett Cleavinger in the sixth and Pratt added a sac fly to extend Milwaukee’s lead to 4-0.

Pitching on three days’ rest, Rasmussen went deeper than he did in Game 2, allowing one run and two hits in four innings. He had a 4-0 lead before he took the mound in Milwaukee on Saturday but couldn’t hold it, lasting only 3 2/3 innings as the Brewers rallied for a 5-4 victory.

Rasmussen retired the first four batters before Brice Turang lined a double the opposite way to left-center. After Sal Frelick was hit by a pitch, Pratt ripped an RBI single to center but was thrown out in a well-executed rundown between first and second. Rasmussen struck out Garrett Mitchell looking to strand a runner on third.

The Rays had runners on second and third with two outs in the fourth but Ben Williamson grounded out to third. Williamson, who was 1 for 15 in the postseason before his game-winning RBI single in the 12th inning in Game 4, started over the lefty-swinging Palacios.

Kelly replaced Rasmussen to start the fifth and allowed consecutive one-out singles to Pratt, Mitchell and Hamilton.

The teams combined to hit just four homers, three for Milwaukee. The Brewers scored a major league-low 32.1% of their runs on homers and Tampa Bay was second-lowest at 34.4%, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

The Brewers led the majors with 103 wins in the regular season and went 11-2 in the postseason, including seven comeback wins and a sweep of the mighty Dodgers in the NLCS.

Milwaukee’s only other MLB championship was won in 1957 by the Braves, who moved to Atlanta for the 1966 season.

Murphy’s team finished what Harvey Kuenn’s star-studded crew couldn’t accomplish 44 years ago as the AL champions. Harvey’s Wallbangers had five Hall of Famers: Robin Yount, Paul Molitor, Ted Simmons, Don Sutton and Rollie Fingers. But Fingers missed the postseason with a forearm injury. They also had Hall of Famer Bob Uecker in the broadcast booth.

The Rays, an expansion team that debuted in 1998, dropped to 0-3 in the World Series after defeats in 2008 and 2020. The only other clubs to lose in their first three Series appearances were the Brooklyn Dodgers (0-7) and Detroit Tigers (0-4), according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

This might have been the last Major League Baseball game for an extended period.

The Brewers won the World Series at a time when owners are pushing for a salary cap from the players’ association because they maintain small-market teams can’t regularly succeed. A management lockout is likely to start Dec. 2 and could threaten the 2027 season.

This was the first Series since 1991 between teams in the bottom half of payrolls. The Brewers ranked 19th as of Aug. 31 and Rays were 25th.

The Rays were trying to become the first team to fall behind 3-0 in a World Series and force a sixth game. Of the 26 teams to fall behind 3-0, 21 were swept and Tampa Bay became the fifth to lose in Game 5.

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Fans attend a watch party at American Family Field to see the Milwaukee Brewers play the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 5 of baseball's World Series Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Ross Harried)

The Tampa Bay Rays watch during the ninth inning of Game 5 of baseball's World Series, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla., between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Trevor Megill celebrates after winning baseball's World Series, against the Tampa Bay Rays, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla.(AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski talks with head athletic trainer Brad Epstein and manager Kevin Cash after being pulled from the game during the sixth inning of Game 5 of baseball's World Series, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla., between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras celebrates his RBI double during the sixth inning of Game 5 of baseball's World Series, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla., between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras follows through on an RBI double off Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Garrett Cleavinger during the sixth inning of Game 5 of baseball's World Series, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla., between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Milwaukee Brewers' William Contreras celebrates after scoring during the sixth inning of Game 5 of baseball's World Series, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla., between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Milwaukee Brewers' William Contreras celebrates after scoring during the sixth inning of Game 5 of baseball's World Series, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla., between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Pat Murphy was rushed from the ballpark six years ago, stricken with a heart attack.

"This ambulance driver was like, `Sir, can I have your next of kin?'" the Milwaukee Brewers manager recalled. “I'm like, Bro, next of kin? I’m not going anywhere.'"

On Wednesday night he was leaving the ballpark a World Series champion.

Charming, cantankerous, inquisitive and endearing, this barrel-chested baseball lifer has rebounded from an NCAA scandal two decades ago and then his medical emergency, leading the Brewers to a five-game World Series win over the Tampa Bay Rays and their first title.

“It’s an iron-sharpens-iron mentality, and you’ve got to be able to take the punches when he gives them to you,” Milwaukee outfielder Garrett Mitchell said.

A month shy of his 68th birthday, Murphy could soon become the first person to win a Manager of the Year award in three straight seasons. At times he sounds like a cranky grandfather, relishing his unhip demeanor.

"I’m not on social media, Twizzler or Instacart, whatever,” he quipped.

He’s been married three times and has four kids: daughter Keli (40), who is married to former major leaguer Pedro Alvarez; and sons Kai (26), a Padres minor league outfielder, Austin (11) and Jaxon (7).

He encourages young players by showing confidence, but also can be stern — he pulled Cooper Pratt and William Contreras from games this year for not running hard.

“When it’s time to send some tough love, it looks like he’s pretty good at that, too,” Brewers owner Mark Attanasio said.

Murphy demands accountability from players and owner alike. When he became Milwaukee's bench coach in 2016, he instituted “The Check Game.” A player, staffer and even Attanasio gets a check on a white board when saying anything displaying ego as opposed to selflessness.

“When anybody draws attention to themselves,” Murphy said. “Mark Attanasio wears a big Brewers logo on his private plane, I’m like: `You want everybody to know you’re the Brewers' owner? That’s a check.' It's in good fun.”

President of Baseball Operations Matt Arnold is the two-time reigning champion.

“He’s the most humble man around, but I just like to give him a hard time,” Murphy said.

The manager gathers his youngest children and their friends around him for postgame news conferences. His answers to media questions this month have included digressions on the history of neckties, his two Bruce Springsteen tattoos and a FaceTime call with The Boss last week.

He refuses to shake hands with players during foul-line introductions, calling that tradition "happy horse manure."

“I think it’s kind of cool that everybody pumps him on the chest going down the line rather than high-fiving,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said.

When a reporter addressed him as Mr. Murphy rather than Pat or Murph, he responded: “Now I feel like I’m back in Catholic school, substitute teaching.”

Asked about Springsteen, a perturbed Murphy asked the media group: “Can he be fined for a stupid question?”

When a Brewers communications official turned down an interview with Chris Russo, Murphy overruled him as soon as he found out and immediately FaceTimed the sports-media personality.

Murphy pitched 11 complete games and also caught and played infield and outfield at Florida Atlantic in 1981 and ‘82. He remembers being called for a balk at the University of Miami’s Mark Light Field, slamming the ball in frustration and it bouncing up and knocking off his cap.

Bypassed in the amateur draft, Murphy signed a minor league contract with San Francisco but had a shoulder injury and was released without playing in a game for the Giants.

He went 1-5 with a 5.50 ERA in six starts and 22 relief appearances for San Diego's Class-A Salem affiliate in 1983, played for Sydney in Australia the following year and finished with Tri-Cities in the independent Northwest League, going 6-5 over 24 games in 1985 and '86 — as a player-manager the final year.

Murphy started his coaching career at Division III Maryville in 1983, was a Florida Atlantic assistant for two seasons and became head coach at Division III Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges in 1986-87. While at the Division III schools, he also was a football assistant.

One late night during that time, he was driving in suburban Los Angeles when he saw someone in a sports car who had a breakdown. Turned out, it was longtime big leaguer Mike Scioscia.

“Guy’s got a suit on, heavyset guy. Didn’t recognize him. I said, `Hey, man, can I help you?” Murphy recalled.

They drove in Murphy's jeep to his office.

“I said, `What do you do?' He goes, `I work for the Dodgers.' I go, `Oh, what do you do?' He goes, `I catch.' I feel like a total fool," Murphy remembered. “I gave him a ride home that night and got his car fixed, and we became friends ever since.”

Murphy moved up to Notre Dame (1988-94) and Arizona State (1995-2009), losing 21-14 to Southern California in the 1998 College World Series final. He won exactly 1,000 college games, earning the nickname “Black Hat Pat” for his intensity.

But he resigned from the Sun Devils during an NCAA investigation, and the organization in December 2010 issued him a one-year penalty of restriction on college coaching activities, saying he had “failed to promote an atmosphere for compliance for his lack of oversight and disregard of NCAA rules.”

“I was a college coach forever, and then I had this huge injustice happen, and I thought, why me?, and feel sorry for myself and all that. My ego was involved a great deal more than it should,” he said this month.

Murphy, who also had managed the Netherlands in the 2000 Olympics, joined the Padres as a special assistant in 2010. He managed farm teams at Class A Eugene (2011-12), Triple-A Tucson (2013) and Triple-A El Paso (2014-15).

“I look at that segment in my life as crucial to try to bounce back and rebuild things and go through what I went through, all the time raising my son by myself,” Murphy said.

He became the Padres' interim manager when Bud Black was fired in June 2015 and led San Diego to a 42-54 record.

Murphy was hired as the Brewers' bench coach in October 2015 by manager Craig Counsell, who had played for him at Notre Dame. Murphy held that job through 2023 — missing much of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season following a heart attack that Aug. 1 during a workout at American Family Field in Milwaukee — and was promoted to manager in November 2023 when Counsell left to manage the Chicago Cubs.

“The thing that I love about it is you get up every day with the opportunity to impact, the opportunity to learn from somebody, to have somebody impact you," Murphy said. “You talk about athletics, team sports. There’s nothing better, man, than rowing the boat with other people in it.”

Murphy has never given himself a check mark.

“I’m the check master,” he said.

And he realizes losing the Arizona State job set him on the path toward a World Series championship.

“When you have your priorities focused on your kids and your life and then realizing that this position isn’t about you, it’s about others and it has to be or all bets are off, that realization just frees you up,” he said. “I don’t know if I’m any good. I just know I have to get better. I know I’m under construction, and I’ve enjoyed the construction project. It feels like it never gets done, though.”

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy watches batting practice prior to Game 2 of baseball's World Series, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Milwaukee, between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)

Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy watches batting practice before Game 1 of baseball's World Series, Friday, Oct. 23, 2026, in Milwaukee, between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)