Rays Fall Short of First World Series Title After Game 5 Loss to Brewers

The Tampa Bay Rays' first-ever World Series title will have to wait at least another year. 

The team fell to the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-1, at Tropicana Field on Wednesday night, allowing the Brewers to clinch their first-ever World Series title. 

Here's what you need to know from the contest. 

After pitching on short rest, Tampa Bay's ace Drew Rasmussen got the start in Game 5 for Tampa Bay. 

Before the outing, Kevin Cash reported that he would only have a limit of about 60 pitches due to the usage from him already in the series. However, Rasmussen didn't even get that far. 

He was pulled after 4 innings and 48 pitches, after allowing 1 earned run off 2 hits and picking up 4 strikeouts. Potentially another questionable call in the postseason by Kevin Cash: pulling a starting pitcher too early.

The early move appeared to come back and bite them. Kevin Kelly replaced Rasmussen and gave up an RBI single to Brewers' David Hamilton. Garrett Cleavinger followed Kelly and quickly gave up two runs on only eight pitches. Those four runs were the deciding factor in officially eliminating the Rays from reaching their first World Series title. 

It wasn't an easy day at the plate for Tampa Bay's hitters, as the Brewers unleashed their ace Jacob Misiorowski to get the job done and end the series. 

Misiorowski went 5.2 innings and allowed only two hits and struck out two batters, but hardly allowed any contact in the contest. He was only removed after throwing 86 pitches due to a lower leg cramp that forced him to exit early. 

However, the Brewers' bullpen stepped up in a big way. Brewers manager Pat Murphy relied on the trio of Jojo Romero, Abner Uribe, and Trevor Megill to finish things off, and they did just that. 

Tampa Bay found a little bit of life in the bottom of the ninth inning to keep things alive, as Chandler Simpson hit an RBI single to give the Rays their only run of the night. However, it wasn't enough, as Richie Palacios grounded into second base for the final out of the night. 

In a season that was certainly a lengthy one, beginning with the World Baseball Classic and ending in the Fall Classic for Tampa Bay, the 2026 season finally comes to a close. 

All eyes will now turn to free agency, potential trades, contract extensions, and, of course, a looming potential lockout due to conversations about a new collective bargaining agreement. 

Free agency officially opens Tomorrow morning, the day after the final World Series game.