'End of a 57-year wait': MIL achieves historic first World Series title... Contreras, batting .381, named MVP [MLB]

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It was a moment awaited for a staggering 57 years. The Milwaukee Brewers achieved their first-ever World Series championship in franchise history.

On the 29th (Korean time), Milwaukee defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 in Game 5 of the 2026 Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, USA.

With a record of four wins and one loss, Milwaukee won the World Series for the first time since its founding in 1969. After losing to the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1982 World Series while playing in the American League, the team finally became the protagonist on the World Series stage after 44 years.

Milwaukee, which won the National League Central Division title with a regular season record of 103 wins and 59 losses, defeated the San Diego Padres three games to one in the Division Series before advancing to the World Series by sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers four games to none in the Championship Series. The Dodgers were challenging for a third consecutive World Series title. This achievement carries even greater significance given that Milwaukee is not a big-market team like the Dodgers, but rather ranks 19th in total payroll.

After suffering a walk-off loss in an extra-inning thriller in Game 4 held the previous day following three consecutive wins, Milwaukee pressed Tampa Bay from the start of this game. In the top of the second inning with one out, Bryce Turang set the table with a double, followed by Sal Frelick reaching on a hit-by-pitch. Cooper Pratt then hit a single to center field, driving in Turang from second base.

In the fifth inning, with one out, Garrett Mitchell followed Pratt with a hit, and David Hamilton added a run with an RBI single to right-center field, extending the lead by one point.

On the mound, ace Jacob Misiorowski's effort shone. Misiorowski threw 86 pitches over 5⅔ innings, allowing two hits and one walk while striking out two batters in a scoreless outing, powered by blazing fastballs.

In the top of the sixth inning, William Contreras hit an RBI double down the left field line with no outs and a runner on first base to extend the lead further. With one out and runners on first and third bases, Cooper Pratt's sacrifice fly brought Turang home, widening the score gap to 4-0.

Misiorowski, who took the mound in the bottom of the sixth inning, struck out Jonathan Aranda and Junior Caminero before Liam Hicks was hit by a foul ball, delaying the game, prompting a handoff to JoJo Romero. After passing through Aivner Uribe, Trevor Megill took over the mound starting from the eighth inning, with only three outs remaining until victory.

Megill struck out Caminero but allowed Hicks to hit a double before striking out Johnny DeLuca again. However, he wavered after giving up an RBI double to Chandler Simpson.

Yet, there was no dramatic comeback. Megill retired Rich Palacios with a ground ball to second base, becoming the winning pitcher.

Contreras was selected as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) who led the franchise to its first World Series title. In the five games of this series, he recorded a .381 batting average (eight hits in 21 at-bats), four RBIs, two runs scored, an on-base percentage of .458, and an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of .887, rightfully earning the MVP award ahead of Jackson Chourio, Cooper Pratt, and Aaron Ashby.

Meanwhile, Tampa Bay, which was challenging for its first championship since its founding in 1998, was blocked by Milwaukee, finishing with a runner-up finish in its third World Series appearance, following 2008 and 2020.

With Milwaukee's ascent to the top, the number of teams without a World Series title has been reduced to four: Tampa Bay, the Seattle Mariners, the Los Angeles Angels, and the Colorado Rockies.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original