Milwaukee survived an overturned game-ending double play and a bases-loaded ninth to win its first World Series game in 44 years.
By Cliff Maddox — The Beat Writer, CelebnMusic247
The Milwaukee Brewers thought they had won Game 1 of the World Series twice on Friday night. The first time, the replay review took it away. The second time, with the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position and premature fireworks smoke still hanging over American Family Field, closer Trevor Megill struck out Jonny DeLuca to finish a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays — Milwaukee’s first World Series victory since 1982, in front of 43,250 fans who stood for most of the night, per the Associated Press.
A 44-year wait, answered in the first inning
Milwaukee wasted no time giving the crowd what it came for. Christian Yelich hit an RBI triple to spark a two-run first inning, and William Contreras followed with a run-scoring single for a 2-0 lead the Brewers never gave back, per the AP. On the mound, Jacob Misiorowski opened the night with a 103.5 mph fastball — reported as the fastest pitch in World Series history since pitch tracking began — and allowed one run over five innings to earn the win. Tampa Bay got on the board in the fourth, when Liam Hicks grounded out to bring home a run, and Milwaukee restored the cushion in the seventh on an insurance single from Jackson Chourio, who joined Contreras with two hits on the night.
The ninth inning nobody in Milwaukee will forget
Contreras controlled this game from behind the plate as much as at it, throwing out two would-be base stealers — the Rays had been a perfect 10-for-10 stealing bases this postseason before Friday, per USA Today. But the ninth nearly undid all of it. Megill loaded the bases with one out, then got Hicks to ground into what looked like a game-ending double play. Tampa Bay challenged, and the review showed shortstop Cooper Pratt’s foot had come off the bag at second before he threw to first — so Junior Caminero was safe, Jorge Mateo scored to make it 3-2, and the celebration had to be put back in the box. Megill regrouped and struck out DeLuca with runners on second and third to end it for real.
A first-time champion is now guaranteed
This is the first World Series matching two clubs that have never won it since 1980, and the Game 1 winner has gone on to win the series 62.8 percent of the time, per the AP. Game 2 is Saturday night in Milwaukee before the series shifts to Tampa Bay on Monday — and if Friday was the tone-setter, the Rays’ trademark aggression on the bases just ran into the one catcher in baseball built to stop it.
The 247 Take — Milwaukee waited 44 years for this night and nearly had to win it twice in ten minutes. Contreras was the best player on the field — two hits, the hardest-hit ball of the night, and two runners erased — and Megill’s strikeout of DeLuca, after the review ripped the ending out of his hands, is the kind of save that becomes franchise folklore. The Rays stole their way through October. Wild Bill just changed that math.
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Sources: NBC Sports / Associated Press | USA Today | Sports Illustrated | My Sports Hub
