Milwaukee waited 44 years for a World Series night at home, and when it finally arrived on Friday, it was decided by the smallest of margins. The Brewers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 in Game 1 at American Family Field, taking a 1-0 lead in a best of seven series that guarantees a first time champion, because neither club has ever won the World Series.
Milwaukee scored twice in the first inning and never trailed. Christian Yelich drove in Jackson Chourio with a triple, and William Contreras followed with a run scoring single to make it 2-0. Tampa Bay pulled one back in the fourth inning, Milwaukee added an insurance run in the seventh, and the Rays scored again in the ninth before the Brewers closed out a tense finish in front of 43,250 fans.
A record first pitch, then a long wait
The night began with history. Brewers starter Jacob Misiorowski opened the game with a 103.5 mph fastball to Yandy Diaz, reported as the fastest pitch in World Series history in the pitch tracking era. Sports Illustrated described the contest that followed as a defensive slugfest between two teams built on pitching and defence, and the box score supports that reading. Milwaukee managed eight hits to Tampa Bay’s seven, and neither side committed an error.
Misiorowski lasted five innings and allowed one run, and the Milwaukee bullpen handled the final four innings. The difference, on a night of fine margins, was situational hitting. Tampa Bay went without a hit in six chances with runners in scoring position, and two Rays runners were thrown out on the bases, both by Contreras. Milwaukee, by contrast, turned two of its eight chances into runs, and Chourio’s seventh inning single proved to be the winning hit.
What Game 2 changes
Game 2 is back in Milwaukee on Saturday night, and the shape of the series could change quickly. A second Milwaukee win would send the Rays home for Game 3 facing a 2-0 deficit with no margin left, while a Tampa Bay win would level the series and hand the Rays home field advantage for the next three games. The Rays will take encouragement from the ninth inning, when they loaded the bases and forced a replay review that overturned what had briefly looked like a game ending double play.
For Milwaukee, the task is simpler to state than to repeat. The Brewers must protect home field once more, keep the Rays off the bases, and trust a bullpen that held its nerve when the game was on the line. For Tampa Bay, the task is to turn scoring chances into runs, because Game 1 showed that this series will not offer many second chances. One game down, the World Series already feels like it will be settled by inches.
