Brewers End 56-Year Wait With Dominant World Series Win
After sweeping the Dodgers and toppling the Rays, Milwaukee celebrates.
Milwaukee Brewers fans react in the ninth inning before the team wins the World Series on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, during a watch party at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wis. Angela Major/WPR
For the first time in franchise history, the Milwaukee Brewers are World Series champions.
The Brewers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in Game 5 of the World Series Wednesday night, capping off a historic postseason run. The win came after the team lost in extra-innings in a tense Game 4.
Brewers players mobbed each other on the infield of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg after reliever Trevor Megill struck out two and Richie Palacios grounded out to second. Over 1,000 miles away in Milwaukee, thousands of fans at American Family Field erupted in cheers during a watch party inside the ballpark.
Tryny Ordonez was one of thousands for whom the victory was emotional. She came to the watch party with her partner on their anniversary.
“When I came into the stadium, my legs were shaking, everything, my heart. I cannot stop crying,” she said. “And I told him: This is the day we’re going to win. And we did it.”
For lifelong fan Adam Parikh, the team has been entwined with his life.
“I met my wife at a Brewers game,” he said. “I proposed at a Brewers game. And we brought our son to a Brewers game when he was just a baby.”
The win comes after a historic regular season behind the success of likely National League Cy Young award winner Jacob Misiorowski. The Brewers had the second-highest runs scored of any team in baseball and the second-lowest earned run average during the regular season.
On Wednesday night, Misiorowski pitched five and two-thirds shutout innings, striking out two, walking one and giving up only two hits. He left the game with leg cramps.
Brewers fans cheer as they take the lead in the second inning of Game 5 of the World Series on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, during a watch party at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wis. Angela Major/WPR
Excitement and buzz around the Brewers has been growing for weeks, with bars and restaurants hosting watch parties across the state. Tickets for watch parties inside American Family Field for Games 3 and 4 of the World Series sold out minutes after going on sale to the general public last week. Some tickets for the watch party for Game 5 were going for over $200 on some resale sites.
The Brewers were also forced to close the team stores at American Family Field last Thursday, because of “unprecedented demand for Brewers World Series merchandise,” according to a statement from the team.
Games 1 and 2 of the World Series in Milwaukee saw sell-out crowds. Some fans who bought standing room only tickets flocked to the ballpark hours before the first pitch to secure a spot to watch the action.
The team beat the San Diego Padres in this year’s National League Division Series. They swept the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series, punching a ticket to their first Fall Classic since 1982.
They then beat the Rays — the team with the best record in the American League — in the World Series, behind clutch pitching, timely hitting and an unforgettable 8-run inning in Game 3 of the World Series.
The Brewers notched a franchise record 103 wins in the regular season. The team was tied for the second-fewest home runs in the regular season, with 154. But the club mashed its way to a World Series berth in the NLCS, hitting several big home runs in key moments.
Milwaukee Brewers fans celebrate at a World Series watch party as the team wins in game five Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wis. Angela Major/WPR
On Wednesday night, the Brewers took an early lead in the second inning when Brice Turang doubled and Cooper Pratt drove him in. Pratt was on base in the top of the fifth inning when David Hamilton drove him in. The team would score two more run in the sixth on a William Contreras double that drove in Christian Yelich and a sacrifice fly by Pratt that allowed Contreras to score.
On defense, Misiorowski and company held the Rays scoreless through eight innings; Tampa Bay’s one run came in the bottom of the ninth. But the outcome of Wednesday’s game was never in real doubt.
Milwaukee Brewers fans Dennis and Kay Wentland embrace after the team wins the World Series on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, during a watch party at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wis. Angela Major/WPR
Milwaukee Brewers fans Jake and Erin DeJarlais celebrate in the fifth inning of game five of the World Series during a watch party Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wis. Angela Major/WPR
For fan Kathy Loewen, it was the culmination of decades of loving the team.
“We’ve been season ticket holders for 30 years,” Loewen said at the watch party at American Family Field. “I still call it Miller Park — I’m probably not supposed to. This is awesome. I can’t even say words.”
The franchise has had regular season success for the past decade or so, notching one of the best records in the MLB since the 2017 season. But fans have suffered several postseason heartbreaks in recent years.
Chris Taylor’s diving catch in game 7 of the 2018 NLCS. A Juan Soto hit going under the glove of Trent Grisham in the 2019 National League Wild Card game. A Pete Alonso 3-run home run in Game 3 of the 2024 National League Wild Card Series.
But for some Brewers fans, this year just felt different.
A Jackson Chourio game-winning single in Game 2 of the NLDS. A Jake Bauers go-ahead 2-run home run in Game 3 of the NLCS. A Sal Frelick game-tying solo home run in Game 2 of the World Series.
The Brewers, who have been in Milwaukee since 1970, reached the World Series in 1982 but lost that series in seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals. They didn’t return to the postseason until 2008.
In 2011, the Brewers came within two games of getting to the World Series. In 2018, they were one win away.
Going into the 2026 World Series, the Brewers were one of only five MLB franchises without a World Series title. The Rays have also never won a World Series.
Now “The Commissioner’s Trophy” is on its way to Wisconsin.
The team will hold a parade in Milwaukee beginning at 10 a.m. Friday.
Milwaukee Brewers fans embrace as the team wins the World Series on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, during a watch party at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wis. Angela Major/WPR
Milwaukee Brewers win first-ever World Series title was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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