The Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays to win their first World Series.
The Brewers essentially shut down one of the best offenses in baseball and got enough from their offense to become champions. Rays manager Kevin Cash kept it simple when asked why the Rays offense could not get going against the Brewers.
"Milwaukee Brewers pitching," Cash said bluntly after the game. "It's as simple as that. We've got a bunch of good hitters over there. They've shown it all season long. We ran into a team that had, tonight, elite starting pitching, very good pitching, and as good as a bullpen as I've ever seen."
The Brewers bullpen was the story of the Fall Classic, and perhaps the entire postseason. They were pretty much untouchable all month, and saved the Brewers after their starters failed to get deep into games.
Aaron Ashby specifically was amazing in October. He threw 18 scoreless innings in the postseason. Trevor Megill, Abner Uribe, DL Hall and JoJo Romero were all incredible in the biggest moments and carried the pitching staff.
On Wednesday, Jacob Misiorowski looked like an ace and was on his way to a start that would have been remembered for ages in Milwaukee. However, his outing was cut short by leg cramps.
All season, the Rays thrived on contact and putting the ball in play. Against the Brewers, simply getting a baserunner felt like an accomplishment, and a ton of that credit goes to the defense.
The pitching was great, but Brice Turang was a vacuum at second base, and all three Brewers outfielders were phenomenal all series. Sal Frelick's, Jackson Chourio's and Garrett Mitchell's contributions cannot be overlooked.