Milwaukee waited 44 years to host another World Series game, and the Brewers gave the home crowd a night worth stretching from the first tailgate to the final strike. Christian Yelich delivered an RBI triple in his first Fall Classic plate appearance, Jacob Misiorowski worked five steady innings, and Trevor Megill survived a replay-fueled ninth as the Brewers beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 3-2, in Friday’s Game 1 at American Family Field.
The gates had not yet opened when fans began arriving around 9 a.m. local time, six hours ahead of the official parking-lot opening and roughly 10 hours before first pitch. With the retractable roof closed and the building packed, the noise followed the Brewers through every tight turn of a game that had no home runs and little room for error.
“Electric,” Misiorowski said. “The fans were crazy. It’s everything I dreamed of.”
Yelich gets Milwaukee moving immediately
The Brewers did not show much rust after a week between postseason games. Jackson Chourio opened the bottom of the first with a single against Rays starter Nick Martinez, and Yelich came up one out later carrying a notable distinction: he had played the sixth-most games among active players without ever batting in a World Series.
His wait ended with a line drive that center fielder Jonny DeLuca could not catch on a diving try. Chourio scored, while Yelich raced to third for an RBI triple. William Contreras followed with a sharp liner that brought Yelich home and put Milwaukee ahead 2-0.
Yelich said the Brewers had used their layoff to keep hitters active in the cage and seeing pitches.
“You can’t really duplicate a playoff environment,” Yelich said, “but we kept guys in the box and seeing pitches. Everybody made sure they got their work in. When you wake up that morning, the adrenaline is there and you’re ready to play.”
Before the game, Hall of Famer Robin Yount honored the late Bob Uecker in the pregame ceremony. Yount took the field in Uecker’s sport coat, then removed it to reveal a “Ueck” jersey with Yount’s No. 19.
Misiorowski settles in, Contreras controls the running game
Misiorowski entered the night under scrutiny after two shorter postseason appearances and recent mechanical concerns. He did not overpower Tampa Bay in his usual fashion, recording only seven swings and misses, which matched his season low. But the rookie right-hander gave Milwaukee exactly what it needed: five innings, four hits, one earned run, one walk and three strikeouts.
His opening pitch registered 103.5 mph, a World Series record. The Rays finally broke through in the fourth after Junior Caminero drove a 112.7 mph double over Garrett Mitchell’s head in center. With runners moved into scoring position, Liam Hicks grounded out to bring Jonathan Aranda home and cut the Brewers’ lead to 2-1.
Misiorowski prevented a larger inning by retiring DeLuca on a fly ball. His final out came in the fifth, when Contreras threw out Victor Mesa Jr. trying to take third base with Yandy Díaz at the plate.
Mesa acknowledged afterward that the gamble was a mistake.
“I’m always trying to make something happen,” Mesa said. “It’s easy to say afterward, but it wasn’t the best decision.”
Contreras erased another Rays runner in the sixth. Aranda singled against Abner Uribe, then was thrown out attempting to steal second as Chandler Simpson struck out swinging. The hit-and-run attempt ended another Tampa Bay threat.
Brewers manager Pat Murphy praised Misiorowski for navigating an American League champion that does not give away many at-bats, then pointed to Contreras as the game’s defining defender.
“Contreras was incredible,” Murphy said. “If somebody doesn’t recognize what Contreras brought to this game, he was the player of the game.”
Chourio adds room before Megill’s ninth-inning escape
Milwaukee found an important extra run in the seventh. Cooper Pratt reached second, and Chourio singled him home against reliever Kevin Kelly for a 3-1 lead. Uribe and Aaron Ashby then handled the bridge work to Megill.
The closer’s ninth looked finished for a moment. Tampa Bay loaded the bases, and Hicks hit a ground ball to the right side. Brice Turang started a 4-6-3 double play, prompting a brief celebration around the field as the Brewers appeared to have their final two outs.
Replay review changed the picture. Pratt’s foot had come off second base, wiping out one out from the double play. A Rays run scored, the margin shrank to one, and two runners remained in scoring position.
Rays manager Kevin Cash said he expected the ruling to be reversed after seeing the replay and liked the matchup with DeLuca at the plate.
Megill ended it for good by striking out DeLuca. The final out turned a tense finish into a 3-2 Milwaukee victory and gave the Brewers a 1-0 World Series lead.
Martinez, who started for Tampa Bay, saw a closely matched series ahead.
“Both clubs do nearly everything well,” Martinez said. “We’re fighters, and we know they are, too. This series is going to be a dogfight.”
For Yelich, the win also belonged to a city that had been ready long before the first pitch.
“That’s a day,” Yelich said of the early-arriving tailgaters. “That’s a good day at the ballpark. They put in some time. They waited a long time for this, and it’s really cool to see the excitement around the city and how fired up everybody is.”
