The Tampa Bay Rays needed another escape Wednesday night to keep their 2026 season alive. Instead, their offense disappeared and their bullpen allowed a manageable deficit to grow. It was a similar script to Game 3, when the Rays also failed to generate enough offense against the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Brewers won 4-1 at Tropicana Field, closing out the 2026 World Series in five games. The Rays collected only four hits and scored their only run in the ninth inning, too late to prevent the Brewers from celebrating their first championship.
Jacob Misiorowski deserves credit for his 5 2/3 scoreless innings. But Tampa Bay also failed in situations where better execution could have kept their season alive.
Jonny DeLuca, Garrett Cleavinger and Jonathan Aranda deserve the most scrutiny for their performances in the Rays’ season-ending Game 5 loss.
3. Jonathan Aranda never generated traffic
Jonathan Aranda finished 0-for-4 with a strikeout, leaving the Rays without a baserunner from their first baseman.
His second plate appearance offered an opportunity to build something. Yandy Diaz walked in the third inning, but Aranda followed with a fly-out to right.
Aranda later grounded out in the sixth and struck out swinging against Trevor Megill in the eighth. Four plate appearances produced four consecutive outs.
The criticism should stay within those facts. Aranda did not strand a parade of runners or personally determine the outcome. However, the Rays needed an established offensive contributor to create pressure, and he never reached base.
Against the Brewers’ dominant pitching staff, the Rays could not afford four empty plate appearances from Aranda.
2. Garrett Cleavinger let the deficit double
Garrett Cleavinger initially handled his assignment, striking out Jake Bauers to finish the fifth inning with two inherited runners aboard.
The sixth went differently.
Cleavinger hit Christian Yelich with a pitch before William Contreras delivered an RBI double. Brice Turang followed with a single, putting runners at the corners without an out.
Tyler Wells replaced Cleavinger and eventually allowed Contreras to score on Cooper Pratt’s sacrifice fly.
Cleavinger finished with two earned runs charged to him over one-third of an inning. The Brewers’ advantage grew from 2-0 to 4-0.
He deserves credit for escaping the fifth. But immediately giving the Brewers a free baserunner and consecutive hits made the comeback assignment substantially harder.
With the Rays struggling to score, those additional runs carried considerable weight.
Article Continues Below1. Jonny DeLuca could not make contact when it mattered
DeLuca finished 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, the most damaging individual offensive line among these selections.
After popping out in the second, he struck out swinging in the fourth and looking in the seventh.
His final opportunity came during the ninth-inning rally. With the Rays attempting to extend their season, DeLuca struck out swinging against Megill.
The Brewers’ pitching deserves respect. Still, three strikeouts left DeLuca unable to force the defense to make a play in most of his opportunities.
Aranda’s empty night and Cleavinger’s costly sixth helped narrow the Rays’ path. DeLuca’s repeated strikeouts illustrated why their offense could not rescue them.
The Rays now face months of replaying missed chances after winning just once in the biggest series of most of their players’ lives. A pennant-winning season brought them within reach of a championship, but watching the Brewers celebrate on their field will make this winter difficult to stomach.