ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays’ World Series run ended at home Wednesday night, as the Milwaukee Brewers beat them 4-1 in Game 5 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg and celebrated the first championship in their franchise’s history on the Rays’ own turf.
Tampa Bay had kept the series alive one night earlier, rallying in the 12th inning to win Game 4 after Milwaukee had taken the first three games. There was no second escape. Brewers starter Jacob Misiorowski held the Rays scoreless for 5 2/3 innings before calf cramping forced him out in the sixth.
Milwaukee’s offense kept chipping away. Rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt set a World Series rookie mark with hits in six straight plate appearances over the series and then drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth to make it 4-0, pushing the Rays deeper into their bullpen.
The Rays finally scored in the ninth when a double caromed off first base, but closer Trevor Megill kept it to one run and ended the game on a grounder to second baseman Brice Turang at 11:13 p.m.
Thousands of Brewers fans made the trip to St. Petersburg and turned the dome into a home away from home for Milwaukee, while a sold-out crowd of 31,000 watched on the video board back at American Family Field in Milwaukee.
The loss leaves the Rays among four current franchises that have never won a World Series, along with Seattle, San Diego and Colorado. Milwaukee needed 11 postseason wins and lost only twice, a run that included a sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series.
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