Brewers hold off Rays 3-2 in World Series Game 1 after Misiorowski's record 103.5 mph opener

The Milwaukee Brewers celebrated twice in the ninth inning of Game 1 of the World Series. The first time didn’t count. The second time it did: Trevor Megill struck out Jonny DeLuca with runners on second and third, and the Brewers held off the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 on Friday night, Oct. 23, at American Family Field.

Milwaukee leads the best-of-seven series 1-0. It was the city’s first World Series game since 1982, played in front of a sellout crowd of 43,250, according to ESPN’s game page.

The ninth inning that almost went wrong

Tampa Bay trailed 3-1 and hadn’t put a runner on since the sixth, the Associated Press reported, before rallying against Megill with one out:

• Jonathan Aranda and Chandler Simpson singled back-to-back.
• Pinch-runner Jorge Mateo and Simpson pulled off a double steal, putting the tying run in scoring position.
• Junior Caminero walked on a 3-2 pitch in the dirt to load the bases.
• Liam Hicks grounded to the right side. Second baseman Brice Turang ranged to his left and threw to shortstop Cooper Pratt for what was called a game-ending double play.

Fireworks went off and players poured onto the field. Then the crowd watched the replay. A video review showed Pratt’s right foot was slightly off the bag as he caught Turang’s high throw, so the out at second was overturned. Hicks was still out at first, a run scored to make it 3-2, and the Rays had runners at second and third.

Megill reset and got DeLuca to swing through a 2-2 pitch. Tampa Bay finished 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position.

“You’ve got to think worst-case scenario there,” Megill said, per the AP. Pratt, a 22-year-old rookie, said afterward that he thanked the closer “for picking me up.”

Jacob Misiorowski’s World Series debut

The night started with a piece of history. Jacob Misiorowski’s first pitch, a 103.5 mph four-seam fastball to Yandy Díaz, was the fastest pitch ever thrown in a World Series, MLB.com reported. It was called a ball.

The right-hander, considered the favorite for the National League Cy Young Award, then settled in. USA Today’s breakdown of his outing, citing Statcast:

He earned the win while making the start on 11 days’ rest. Five innings was his longest postseason start, USA Today noted, after high pitch counts kept him from completing five in his first two starts this October. The three strikeouts were a season low.

“The adrenaline kind of took over, and I tensed up and threw it hard,” Misiorowski said of the opener, per the AP. “Then I settled down, and that was the game plan.” His own verdict on the night: “Not perfect, but good enough to get a win.”

USA Today reported that the 6-foot-7 right-hander went 16-5 in the regular season and led the majors in ERA (1.80) and strikeouts (252). The Rays’ lone run off him came in the fourth, when Aranda walked, Caminero doubled on a 101 mph fastball and Hicks drove in a run with a groundout.

How Milwaukee scored

• First inning: Christian Yelich hit an RBI triple off Rays starter Nick Martinez to spark a two-run rally. The Brewers never trailed.
• Seventh inning: Jackson Chourio singled home Pratt for an insurance run that turned out to matter.

Martinez kept Tampa Bay close by holding Milwaukee scoreless after the first over his five innings. Chourio and William Contreras each had two hits, including an RBI single, and Contreras also threw out two runners trying to steal. Abner Uribe and Aaron Ashby combined for five strikeouts over three scoreless relief innings before Megill took the ninth.

“I think the frustration comes from we were one swing of the bat away right at the end of potentially taking the lead,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said.

A series between two teams without a title

Neither franchise has won a World Series. The AP noted it is the first Fall Classic between two teams chasing their first championship since 1980, when the Phillies beat the Royals. Milwaukee reached this point by sweeping the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS. Historically, the Game 1 winner has gone on to win the Series 62.8% of the time.

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