Brewers' Ace: Misiorowski leads Milwaukee to road championship

Jacob Misiorowski walked off the mound at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, on Wednesday after suffering a cramp in his right leg. He had just secured the final out of a 5-0 victory that capped Milwaukee's World Series run. The 24-year-old right-hander had thrown five and two-thirds innings, allowing two hits and one walk while striking out two batters. He left the game after a lengthy consultation with the team's training staff.

The Brewers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in five games to claim the championship. Misiorowski started the first game and the deciding game. Across those two appearances, he surrendered only one run on six hits over 10 2/3 innings. He was the major league strikeout leader this season with 252 strikes. Despite command issues that led to high pitches, he limited walks to keep the ball in play. He induced 10 flyball outs, several of which were hit deep, while struggling with footing on the pitcher's mound.

"Obviously, I don't want to go out that way, but I left everything on the table, so, so be it," Misiorowski said after the game.

Tampa Bay right-hander Drew Rasmussen faced a rare pitching challenge. He was returning home from the series after the Rays won Game 4 in 12 innings on Tuesday. The Rays had used six relievers over eight innings that day. Rasmussen was summoned to start Game 5 on three days' rest, a first in his career as a starter. He allowed one run on two hits with four strikeouts in four innings. He threw 36 of his 48 pitches for strikes. He took the loss in the series finale, finishing the postseason with a 2-1 record and a 2.20 earned run average in five starts.

"He's a stud," Rays manager Kevin Cash said of his pitcher. "His stuff was as sharp as it could have been. We had gone into the game saying it was 60 pitches or four innings. Stuck to that. That was the easiest call in the world to take him out of the ballgame. We've worked very hard with all of our pitchers and pride ourselves on doing right by them. We knew this was a big ask, but appreciate Drew Rasmussen so much for taking the ball, wanting the ball, and going out and doing what he did."

Brewers shortstop Cooper Pratt set a record during the series. The 22-year-old rookie collected hits in six consecutive at-bats. That marks the most consecutive hits by a rookie in a World Series. He followed a four-hit performance in Game 4 with two hits and two runs batted in during the final game. Pratt, who made his major league debut less than four months prior, celebrated with the team. "I haven't even had four hits in a game in a long time, and I got that yesterday," Pratt said while being sprayed with champagne by Hall of Fame shortstop Robin Yount. "Somebody said it's some kind of record, so that's cool."

The Brewers finished the postseason with an 11-2 record. They became the fourth consecutive team to win the World Series on the road. Their last consecutive losses occurred on Sept. 5 and 6 against Cincinnati. Second baseman Brice Turang addressed the team's consistency. "No. We're that good. It's expected," Turang said. The Rays became the first team in history to force a Game 6 after falling behind 3-0 in a World Series. Sportsbooks now list the Los Angeles Dodgers as the favorites for the 2027 championship. FanDuel odds place the Dodgers at +360 and the Brewers at +600.