The Brewers didn’t exactly cruise through World Series Game 1, but they did enough to leave with the result that mattered most. Milwaukee held off the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 and grabbed a 1-0 lead in the series after a night that never let up on tension.
This was the kind of opener that felt built for October: tight, tense, and decided by the smallest edges. Jacob Misiorowski and Nick Martinez settled into a duel through five innings, and the game stayed buried in the details. Both defenses kept flashing, turning what could have become a messy scorefest into a grind.
Milwaukee made some of the biggest defensive plays of the night. William Contreras erased two runners on the bases, and Victor Mesa Jr. helped start a relay in the fifth that cut down David Hamilton at the plate after a double, killing off a Brewers scoring chance.
The difference ended up being what happened with runners on. In a game this close, that’s usually where the story gets written, and Game 1 backed that up.
Tampa Bay had chances and didn’t cash in. The Rays went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position, and two runners were caught stealing to end the fifth and sixth innings. Contreras deserves a huge share of the credit for those stops, firing perfect throws to cut down Mesa and Jonathan Aranda.
Milwaukee, meanwhile, came through when it needed a hit. The Brewers were 2-for-8 in those same spots, with Contreras and Jackson Chourio supplying key insurance runs. Chourio’s seventh-inning single wound up being the separator, even after the Rays got on the board in the ninth when Cooper Pratt failed to secure an out at second on a potential game-ending double play.
Misiorowski also gave the night its headline moment before the game even really settled in. All eyes were on the radar gun, and the 6-foot-7 right-hander fired his first pitch at 103.5 MPH, the hardest by a starting pitcher in a World Series game. He still fell short of Aroldis Chapman’s 104.1 MPH mark from the 2016 World Series, though if this thing reaches a fifth game, he gets another crack at it.
Record or not, Misiorowski got the better of Martinez. Both starters lasted five innings, but the Brewers ace gave up only one run, while the Rays All-Star was tagged for two in the first.
From there, Milwaukee leaned on the part of its roster that has carried it through the postseason. After five innings, Murphy turned the game over to the bullpen with the lead and the lineup cycling through for a third time.
Abner Uribe, Aaron Ashby, and Trevor Megill handled the final 12 outs. It could have been four scoreless innings if not for Pratt’s foot coming off second base on that near double play.
Megill still cleaned it up, striking out Jonny DeLuca for the last out and sealing the Brewers’ opening win.
In Other News...
Jacob Misiorowski Just Gave Brewers Fans A New Reason To Believe
Jacob Misiorowski has already given Milwaukee plenty of reasons to dream, and his latest spotlight moment only sharpened the anticipation. The hard-throwing starter came into Game 1 after a season in which he posted a 1.80 ERA over 30 starts and routinely lit up radar guns, averaging 100.6 mph on his four-seam fastball.
The performance against Tampa Bay took that power to another level, even by postseason standards. Misiorowskis velocity put him in a class all his own on baseballs biggest stage, and it only added to the sense that the Brewers may have something special in their rotation as the pressure rises. The only real question now is how far that arm can carry them when the games matter most. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Ace Just Gave The World Series A Historic Start
Jacob Misiorowski wasted no time making his presence felt on the biggest stage, opening the World Series with the kind of velocity that has become his calling card for Milwaukee. The Brewers ace has turned into one of the most electric arms in baseball this season, pairing a 1.80 ERA with 252 strikeouts and taking the ball in Game 1 of the NLDS, NLCS and World Series along the way.
The moment was historic even by his standards, though it also fit the larger pattern of what he has been doing since the regular season. Misiorowski had already grabbed attention earlier this year when he topped the league's starter velocity mark, and now the Brewers are watching that same raw power play out on the sport's biggest October stage. [Read more 🡒]
Pat Murphy Got An Unexpected Call Brewers Fans Will Love
Pat Murphy has spent enough time around baseball to keep his focus on the next game, but this one landed differently. The Brewers coach has long been a Bruce Springsteen fan, and after Milwaukee clinched its NLCS victory, he got an unexpected FaceTime call from the man whose music has been part of his life for years. For Murphy, it was the kind of personal moment that goes beyond a clubhouse celebration and into something a little more memorable.
Springsteen had been watching the Brewers and wanted to connect with Murphy, which made the exchange even more meaningful. Murphy described the conversation as easy, and he spoke about the impact Springsteens music has had on him and his teams over the years. It was a reminder that the Brewers postseason run has started to reach beyond the field, in ways that can surprise even the people closest to it. [Read more 🡒]