Trevor Megill struck out Jonny DeLuca with runners on second and third to wiggle out of a ninth-inning jam as the Milwaukee Brewers escaped with a 3-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday night.
DeLuca’s strikeout came after Tampa Bay’s Liam Hicks had grounded into an apparent game-ending double play that was overturned after a video review. Replays determined that Brewers shortstop Cooper Pratt’s right foot was slightly off the bag when he reached to catch a high throw from second baseman Brice Turang.
Jacob Misiorowski allowed one run over five innings to earn the win.
Christian Yelich hit an RBI triple to spark a two-run rally in the first inning that put the Brewers ahead for good and delighted a sellout crowd reveling in Milwaukee’s first World Series game since 1982. Jackson Chourio and William Contreras provided two hits each, and Contreras also threw out two potential base stealers.
This marks the first World Series featuring two potential first-time champions since 1980, when the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Kansas City Royals in six games. The only other major league teams without a World Series title are the Colorado Rockies, San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners.
The Game 1 winner has gone on to win the World Series 62.8% of the time.
Tampa Bay trailed 3-1 and hadn’t put a runner on since the sixth inning until it mounted its comeback try in the ninth.
Jonathan Aranda and Chandler Simpson hit consecutive one-out singles off Megill. A double steal involving pinch-runner Jorge Mateo and Simpson put the potential tying run in scoring position with Rays slugger Junior Caminero at the plate. Caminero walked on a 3-2 pitch in the dirt to load the bases.
Hicks hit a grounder to the right side, and Turang ranged well to his left to field the ball before throwing to Pratt to start what initially was ruled a game-ending double play.
But a replay review determined Pratt’s right foot came off the bag as he caught Turang’s throw. Hicks was still out at first, but the Rays now had runners at second and third with the score 3-2.
Megill finally closed the deal as DeLuca struck out swinging.
By sweeping the two-time defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series, the Brewers had time to set up their rotation the way they wanted by handing the Game 1 start to Misiorowski, the hard-throwing NL Cy Young Award favorite.
Misiorowski opened the game by throwing the fastest pitch ever delivered in a World Series game, a 103.5 mph ball to Yandy Díaz. The right-hander ended up allowing only one run over five innings with a season-low three strikeouts.
While Milwaukee opened with its ace, Tampa Bay countered with Nick Martinez to give two-time All-Star pitchers Drew Rasmussen and Freddy Peralta an extra day of rest. Martinez struck out five and allowed two runs over five innings, but a slow start proved costly.
Chourio lined a single to right on Martinez’s first pitch, and Yelich drove him home with a one-out triple to center. DeLuca covered 85 feet to track Yelich’s drive down but just missed making a diving catch.
Yelich was batting third in the lineup for the first time since Aug. 3. The three-time All-Star and 2018 NL MVP posted the lowest on-base percentage (.315) and OPS (.692) of his career, but he has stepped up his since being named the first team captain in franchise history the final week of the regular season.
He was the seventh player to triple in his first World Series plate appearance, and the first since Kansas City’s Lynn Jones in 1985, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Contreras knocked home Yelich with a single to left that was deflected by shortstop Taylor Walls.
Tampa Bay got a run back in the fourth.
Aranda drew a leadoff walk and advanced to third when Caminero doubled on a liner with a 112.7 mph exit velocity that sailed over the head of center fielder Garrett Mitchell. Aranda came home on a grounder to the right side.
Milwaukee extended the lead to 3-1 in the seventh. Pratt drew a leadoff walk from Steven Matz and scored from second when Chourio greeted Kevin Kelly with a two-out single to right.
That insurance run proved critical.
