The Milwaukee Brewers will turn to ace Jacob Misiorowski on Wednesday night, 28 October 2026, when they face the Tampa Bay Rays in World Series Game 5 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. Milwaukee leads the best-of-seven series 3-1, so one more win gives the Brewers the first World Series title in franchise history, while Tampa Bay must win to force the series back to Milwaukee.
First pitch is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on FOX. The game comes less than a day after Tampa Bay kept its season alive in dramatic fashion, and it arrives with the championship question now reduced to a single night in Florida.
Misiorowski gets the ball with a title on the line
Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy confirmed Misiorowski as the Game 5 starter after Tuesday night’s loss, and reports confirmed Misiorowski as Game 5 starter for the deciding opportunity. The 24-year-old right-hander started Game 1 and allowed one run in five innings in Milwaukee’s 3-2 win.
His regular season made the choice straightforward. Misiorowski finished 16-5 with a 1.80 ERA, 252 strikeouts and a 0.80 WHIP, leading the majors in each of those categories, and his first pitch in Game 1 reached 103.5 mph, the fastest pitch in World Series history.
He was in the bullpen during Game 4 but never entered the game. Murphy said afterward that he did not consider using his ace to protect a one-run lead on the road in the 12th inning, a decision that now leaves Misiorowski fresh for the start that matters most.
How Game 4 forced a Game 5
Tampa Bay won Game 4 by 4-3 in 12 innings on Tuesday night, a result that denied Milwaukee a sweep and rewrote the mood of the series overnight. Rookie Cooper Pratt gave Milwaukee a 3-2 lead with a solo home run to open the top of the 12th, putting the Brewers three outs from a championship.
The bottom of the 12th turned on a fielding error and three straight singles. Joey Ortiz could not throw out Junior Caminero on a ground ball to open the inning, and Ben Williamson capped the rally with a walk-off single that sent the series to a fifth game.
That finish also matters for what follows it. Milwaukee used seven relievers in Game 4, while Tampa Bay used its pitching depth to survive, which is why a conventional starter in Game 5 gives Milwaukee a cleaner path than another bullpen night would.
Tampa Bay’s pitching puzzle
Tampa Bay had not announced a Game 5 starter as of Wednesday morning, and a bullpen game looks like the most likely route after four nights of heavy pitching use. Nick Martinez, who started Game 1 for the Rays, threw two innings and 33 pitches in relief in Game 4, which complicates any plan to simply turn back to him on short rest.
Rays manager Kevin Cash has shown throughout this postseason that he will move early to a reliever when a matchup favours Tampa Bay. That approach can keep a game close, but it also asks several arms to hold a Milwaukee lineup that has scored in bunches all series.
The Rays’ case for belief is not complicated. They won 98 regular-season games, the best record in the American League, and they have already shown they can win a one-run game in this series, twice in Milwaukee and now once at home in extra innings.
The series so far
| Game | Date and venue | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | Friday, 23 October, Milwaukee | Brewers 3, Rays 2 |
| Game 2 | Saturday, 24 October, Milwaukee | Brewers 5, Rays 4 |
| Game 3 | Monday, 26 October, St. Petersburg | Brewers 10, Rays 1 |
| Game 4 | Tuesday, 27 October, St. Petersburg | Rays 4, Brewers 3 (12 innings) |
| Game 5 | Wednesday, 28 October, St. Petersburg | 8 p.m. ET, FOX |
| Game 6* | Friday, 30 October, Milwaukee | If necessary |
| Game 7* | Saturday, 31 October, Milwaukee | If necessary |
Milwaukee’s path through October explains why this moment feels overdue rather than sudden. The Brewers swept the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series, and Milwaukee’s 10-1 Game 3 rout in St. Petersburg put them within one win of a title before Game 4 intervened.
History still leans heavily toward Milwaukee. Of the 25 previous teams to take a 3-0 lead in a World Series, 21 went on to sweep and four won in five games, and none lost the series. The Brewers are now trying to become the fifth team in that group to finish the job in Game 5 rather than Game 4.
Three things that will decide Game 5
First, watch Misiorowski’s early pitch count. He has not thrown more than five innings in any of his three postseason starts, so Milwaukee will need efficiency from its ace before turning to a bullpen that worked hard on Tuesday night.
Second, watch Tampa Bay’s first trip through the order against a power arm. The Rays have struggled to string hits together against Milwaukee’s starters, and an early lead would let Cash manage his bullpen with a margin rather than chasing the game.
Third, watch the top of Milwaukee’s order. Jackson Chourio went 2-for-6 in Game 4 and has been the series’ most dangerous early bat, and if he and William Contreras reach base together, Tampa Bay’s margin for error shrinks fast.
What a win means for each side
For Milwaukee, a win ends a wait that stretches back to the franchise’s first season. The Brewers’ only previous World Series trip ended in a seven-game loss to St. Louis in 1982.
For Tampa Bay, a win does more than extend the season. It would send the series back to Milwaukee with momentum, a rested home crowd waiting, and a Brewers team that would have lost two straight chances to clinch. The Rays have never won a World Series, losing to Philadelphia in 2008 and to the Dodgers in 2020, so a Game 5 win keeps a different kind of history alive.
Before Tuesday, Milwaukee looked ready to sweep. After Tuesday, Tampa Bay looks ready to fight. Tuesday night’s Game 4 preview framed the sweep as the expected ending, but the Rays rewrote that script in the 12th inning, and the Game 5 starter report now frames Wednesday as Milwaukee’s second, and cleaner, chance to finish the job.
One win is all that separates the Brewers from history. Tampa Bay has one night to stop it again.
