MILWAUKEE - The Rays didn’t get the win in Game 1 of the World Series, but they left the opener with plenty to point to after a 3-2 loss to the Brewers on Friday night.
It was the kind of game that can make both sides feel like they saw something worth building on. Tampa Bay had a strong start from Nick Martinez, worked counts, put pressure on Milwaukee and kept coming. The problem was the end result, and in a short series that matters just as much as the encouraging parts.
How a fan sees it depends on where expectations sat coming in. If you were convinced the Rays were the team to beat, the loss stings.
If you came in worried that Milwaukee carried the stronger overall reputation, then the opener offered reasons to keep believing. Tampa Bay matched the Brewers more often than not.
It just didn’t cash in enough.
The night came down to small margins. Balls were struck hard by both teams, but Milwaukee got the better of those breaks.
Each club had seven balls hit at 99.9 mph or harder. Four of the Brewers’ became hits.
Only one of the Rays’ found grass. Leftfielder Chandler Simpson summed it up this way: “They play the same type of ball, and it just went their way (Friday),” leftfielder Chandler Simpson said.
“Things like that happen when you put the ball in play. It can top off gloves, it can be just inside the foul line.
Things like that happen.”
Still, Tampa Bay didn’t do itself any favors. Victor Mesa Jr. got thrown out trying to steal third with two outs and Yandy Diaz at the plate, a decision that didn’t pay off.
Steven Matz issued three walks in 1 ⅔ innings, Kevin Kelly allowed hits to three of the four batters he faced, and the Rays went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. That’s how a tight game slips away.
Even so, the opener wasn’t all bad news for Tampa Bay. Milwaukee’s offense was the more dangerous unit over the regular season, yet the Rays held it to three runs.
Nick Martinez handled the Brewers while the Rays also avoided using some of their high-leverage relievers. With Drew Rasmussen and Freddy Peralta lined up for the next two games, that matters.
The bullpen matchup didn’t scare the Rays either. Three Milwaukee relievers combined for four innings of one-run work, but Tampa Bay still had the tying run in scoring position after two hits and a walk against Trevor Megill.
Liam Hicks, who drove in both Rays runs on forceouts, said the group welcomes more chances against those arms: “It’s always good to get more looks at those guys. The more we see them, the more comfortable we’re going to get,” said catcher Liam Hicks, who drove in both of Tampa Bay’s runs with forceouts.
“ “But ideally, you walk away with a win in Game 1.”
That didn’t happen, but the Rays also know a Game 1 loss doesn’t automatically sink a series. They dropped Game 1 to the Guardians in the American League Championship Series with Rasmussen starting and at Tropicana Field, then lost two of the first three before ripping off three straight wins to close it out. Victor Mesa Jr. said afterward, “I think we’re at our best when things are against us,” Mesa said.
Tampa Bay kept running, too, which is part of how it got this far. The aggression stayed on display even after Mesa’s mistake and after Jonathan Aranda was thrown out when Simpson struck out on a 3-2 pitch out of the zone - his first two-strikeout game in more than four months.
The Rays were back in position to take the lead in the ninth after a double steal led to Junior Caminero being walked to load the bases with one out. But Hicks grounded out and Jonny DeLuca struck out against Megill.
Kevin Cash pointed to the value of seeing more Brewers relievers up close. “We came up a little bit short, but there’s some benefit from a loss,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said.
“We saw (Aaron) Ashby, we saw (Abner) Uribe, we saw Megill. I’d like to think that’s going to help us moving forward.”
For all the disappointment, the bigger picture from Game 1 is simple enough. Milwaukee won the opener on the road with its best starter working and by getting a few more big moments to break its way. Tampa Bay now heads into the next two games with the starting-pitching edge it wanted, and if the Rays are going to win the World Series, Rasmussen and Peralta are likely to be central to it.
“Look, man, we all believe in one another, especially after the game (Friday). How close it was,” shortstop Taylor Walls said.
“Our bullpen’s going to keep games close. Our starting pitching is going to be great.
I feel like offensively we had a great game plan (Friday). We executed it.
It just didn’t fall our way. We didn’t prevent enough runs that we needed to, and we didn’t quite get enough hits to scratch the runs across that we needed to win.”
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