The wait is over: Brewers capture first World Series championship
Milwaukee defeats Tampa Bay 4-1 in Game 5, ending decades of frustration and the championship dreams of Canadian catcher Liam Hicks.
Forty-four years after their last trip to the World Series, the Milwaukee Brewers finally have their championship moment.
Behind another clutch performance from rookie Cooper Pratt and a commanding effort on the mound, the Brewers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 Wednesday night, capturing the franchise’s first World Series title in five games.
And this time, there would be no late-inning heartbreak.
Pratt opened the scoring in the second inning with an RBI single before David Hamilton doubled Milwaukee’s advantage in the fifth.
The Brewers put the game out of reach in the sixth, with William Contreras delivering an RBI double and Pratt adding a sacrifice fly to make it 4-0.
Jacob Misiorowski kept Tampa Bay’s bats quiet into the sixth inning before handing the ball to Milwaukee’s bullpen.
The Rays managed a ninth-inning run, but Trevor Megill recorded the final out, setting off a long-awaited championship celebration.
For Toronto-born catcher Liam Hicks, the loss brought an end to a memorable postseason run with Tampa Bay.
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The 27-year-old had already made Canadian baseball history in Game 2, becoming just the fourth Canadian-born player to homer in a World Series, joining George Selkirk, Larry Walker and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Hicks, who grew up playing for the Toronto Mets, also helped the Rays extend the series with two hits in Tuesday’s dramatic extra-inning victory.
But there would be no repeat of that comeback Wednesday.
Milwaukee’s only previous World Series appearance came in 1982, when the Brewers lost to St. Louis in seven games.
Now, after decades of waiting, baseball’s biggest prize finally belongs to Milwaukee.
