Milwaukee Brewers win first-ever World Series, beat Tampa Bay Rays in Game 5
Cooper Pratt #12 of the Milwaukee Brewers hits a sacrifice fly to score William Contreras #24 (not pictured) during the sixth inning against Tyler Wells #68 of the Tampa Bay Rays in game five of the 2026 World Series at Tropicana Field on October 28,
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Milwaukee Brewers have defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 5, claiming their first World Series win in franchise history at Tropicana Field.
World Series Game 5 recap
What we know:
The Brewers took the lead after getting one run in the top of the second inning thanks to a Cooper Pratt RBI double. Milwaukee continued on to get their second run in the top of the fifth inning after David Hamilton got an RBI single off Kevin Kelly.
The Brewers kept their lead strong by getting another run in the sixth inning after William Contreras brought in an RBI double, bringing the score to 3-0 against the Rays.
Milwaukee got their fourth run in the same inning after Cooper Pratt's fly ball entered foul territory and was caught by Ryan Vilade, but Contreras tagged and scored from third.
The Rays scored their first run of Game 5 in the bottom of the ninth inning, but it wasn't enough to keep the Brewers from winning the World Series.
This came off of a dramatic 12-inning Game 4 on Tuesday night that kept the Rays from getting completely swept by the Brewers. Before that, the Rays had lost Games 1, 2, and 3.
PREVIOUS: Tampa Bay Rays beat Milwaukee Brewers in Game 4 of World Series
World Series recap
The backstory:
The Rays entered the World Series looking to win the first championship in franchise history. Instead, Milwaukee won the first three games and ultimately won Game 5 to take the first World Series for their franchise.
The Brewers opened the series with a 3-2 victory in Game 1 before rallying from a four-run deficit to win Game 2, 5-4. Milwaukee then dominated Game 3, scoring eight runs in the fifth inning of a 10-1 victory Monday.
Tuesday's dramatic 12-inning Game 4 on Tuesday night kept the Rays from getting completely swept by the Brewers and gave them a chance to keep their season going.
However, the Rays couldn't keep the momentum in Game 5.
World Series MVP named
Dig deeper:
Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras was named the MVP for the 2026 World Series.
Rays' odds were steep
By the numbers:
The odds remain steep for Tampa Bay. No team has ever come back to win the World Series after falling behind 3-0.
In the previous 25 World Series in which a team took a 3-0 lead, all 25 went on to win the championship. Four teams won Game 4 after falling behind 3-0, but all four lost Game 5 and were eliminated.
The only team to overcome a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven postseason series was the 2004 Boston Red Sox, who rallied to beat the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from Major League Baseball box scores, postseason historical records and starting pitching announcements released by the Tampa Bay Rays and the Milwaukee Brewers. It also includes information from Game 5 of the World Series.