For the first time in franchise history, the Milwaukee Brewers can call themselves World Series champions.
The Brewers couldn’t get the job done in seven games against the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1982 World Series, and it took them 44 years to get back to the Fall Classic this season.
In Game 5 against the Tampa Bay Bays, one night after getting walked off in the bottom of the 13th inning, the Brewers defeated their AL opponent, 4-1, to claim their title.
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Game 4 was a suspenseful thriller, where it seemed like 22-year-old rookie Cooper Pratt would go down in World Series history after belting a top of the 13th solo homer to finally break a 2-2 tie.
But, facing a potential sweep at the hands of the Brewers, who did the same to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS, the Rays strung together four straight singles in the bottom of the frame to walk off Game 4 and keep their season alive.
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In Game 5, the Brewers didn’t blink despite momentum swinging in the Rays’ favor ever so slightly.
Once again, it was Pratt, three years removed from playing high school baseball in Mississippi, coming through in the clutch with an RBI single in the top of the second inning off Drew Rasmussen, who made a start on short rest given the circumstances, to take a 1-0 lead.
Meanwhile, Jacob Misiorowski, the likely NL Cy Young winner, was dealing triple-digit fastballs the Rays couldn’t handle in the bottom frames. He went 5.2 innings before cramping in the bottom of the sixth inning forced manager Pat Murphy to finally go into his bullpen, which was exhausted in Game 4 due to extra innings. Misiorowski gave up just two hits and one walk, while striking out two.
The Milwaukee bullpen took over with run support, though, as David Hamilton shot an RBI single past a diving Rays defender in the top of the fifth, and two more runs would come across one inning later thanks to another RBI from Pratt on a sac fly and Williams Contreras roping a double to score Christian Yelich.
A 4-0 lead was just what the Brewers needed, as the bullpen continued to get its outs and the suspense this time was felt from Tampa Bay all the way to Wisconsin, where fans were inching closer toward a history-defining victory.
HISTORIC 5TH INNING AND MUCH MORE: BREWERS’ WORLD SERIES GAME 3 BY THE NUMBERS
This was a team that had the best record in MLB this regular season at 103-59 despite having a payroll in the middle of the pack (19th overall at $146 million). The Rays’ payroll was even lower at $95.6 million, which ranked 28th among the 30 teams, making this a World Series matchup of two teams that operated in another spectrum compared to those at the top of the list filled with All-Stars in every facet.
“Brewer Ball,” however, became a fascinating watch for both baseball traditionalists and modern-day fans. New York Yankees great Derek Jeter said, “Quite frankly, that’s how baseball’s supposed to be played.”
The Brewers do everything needed to win games, especially those close ones. They did it during the regular season, and they did so in the postseason, including Games 1 and 2 against the Rays before blowing them out in Game 3, 10-1, at Tropicana Field.
So, in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Brewers did exactly what was needed one last time to cap their magical season in the best way possible.
Time to celebrate, Brewers fans. Your team just won it all.