Pat Murphy saved Misiorowski for Game 5, and the Brewers won the World Series with him

Pat Murphy spent Wednesday afternoon defending himself. By Wednesday night, he did not need to. Jacob Misiorowski, the ace Murphy refused to use in relief in Game 4, threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-1 to win the World Series four games to one.

The second-guessing started Tuesday. Milwaukee was three outs from a sweep in the 12th inning of Game 4, and Misiorowski sat in the bullpen without ever getting up to stretch, according to ESPN. Antonio Senzatela and Shane Drohan pitched the 12th instead, Tampa Bay scored twice, and the Rays won 4-3.

Murphy's answer before Game 5 was simple. Misiorowski had started all 33 of his appearances this season and in the playoffs, ESPN said, and turning him into a closer for one night would have wrecked the plan for Wednesday.

"Miz would have had to get himself ready," Murphy said, per ESPN. "Now, these guys are starters, and they have to get themselves ready."

He also knew how it looked. "I can second-guess a lot of things, and believe me I do," Murphy said. "I usually don't get questions when it goes the other way."

Then Misiorowski pitched like the guy Murphy was protecting. Working on four days' rest, he allowed two hits and one walk, struck out two and threw 86 pitches before leaving with two outs in the sixth, according to the ESPN box score. MLB showed fans at Tropicana Field and back home at American Family Field standing for him as he walked off.

The bullpen took it from there. JoJo Romero and Abner Uribe each recorded two outs, and Trevor Megill finished the last two innings, giving up only a ninth-inning run on Chandler Simpson's double.

The offense gave Misiorowski enough. Rookie Cooper Pratt drove in two runs, one on a second-inning single and one on a sixth-inning sacrifice fly, and William Contreras and David Hamilton added RBI hits. Tampa Bay's Drew Rasmussen, starting on three days' rest, held Milwaukee to one run in four innings before the Rays' relievers gave up three.

Had the Brewers lost Game 5, the Game 4 decision would have followed Murphy into the winter. They won the franchise's first World Series instead, and the pitcher he held back got 17 of the 27 outs.