Brewers Beat Rays 3-2 in World Series Game 1 After Replay Overturns Game-Ending Double Play

The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday, Oct. 23, at American Family Field, winning only after a replay review overturned what had first been ruled a game-ending double play. Closer Trevor Megill then struck out Jonny DeLuca with two runners in scoring position for the final out, MLB.com's Bryan Hoch reported.

The win was the Brewers' first in a World Series game in 44 years. According to BBC Sport, this is only Milwaukee's second appearance in the World Series and its first since losing to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1982, and it is only the second time in more than a century that neither team in the World Series has won the title before. The BBC reported a crowd of 43,250, above the stadium's 41,900 seats, with standing-room tickets sold.

How the Brewers built the lead

Milwaukee, which swept the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-0 in the National League Championship Series, according to the BBC, was playing for the first time in a week and scored twice in the first inning against Rays starter Nick Martinez, MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince reported. Jackson Chourio led off with a single. One out later, Christian Yelich, in his first World Series at-bat, hit a line drive that a diving DeLuca could not catch in center field, scoring Chourio and reaching third with an RBI triple. William Contreras followed with a sharp liner that scored Yelich for a 2-0 lead.

Tampa Bay scored in the fourth. Junior Caminero hit a 112.7 mph one-out double over center fielder Garrett Mitchell, and Jonathan Aranda scored from third on a Liam Hicks groundout to make it 2-1, according to MLB.com. Brewers starter Jacob Misiorowski went five innings and allowed one earned run on four hits, with one walk and three strikeouts. His first pitch of the game was clocked at 103.5 mph. The BBC reported that this broke the World Series record of 103.2 mph, set by Aroldis Chapman of the Chicago Cubs in 2016, though pitch speeds have only been tracked since 2008. The BBC also reported that Misiorowski, 24, became the youngest starter since 1997 to win a World Series opener.

Contreras, Milwaukee's catcher, ended two Tampa Bay threats with his arm, according to MLB.com. He threw out Victor Mesa Jr. trying to steal third base to end the fifth inning, and in the sixth he caught Aranda stealing second as Chandler Simpson struck out. "If anybody doesn't notice the contributions of Contreras, he was the player of the game," Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. In the seventh, Chourio singled home Cooper Pratt from second base against reliever Kevin Kelly for a 3-1 lead, and relievers Abner Uribe and Aaron Ashby handed the game to Megill.

The overturned double play

In the ninth, Megill allowed two one-out singles before Simpson and Jorge Mateo pulled off a double steal, and Caminero walked to load the bases, MLB.com reported. Hicks then hit Megill's first pitch to second baseman Brice Turang, who threw to Pratt at second base for a forceout. Pratt's relay to first appeared to end the game, and fireworks went off.

The Rays challenged the play. A video review showed that Pratt's right foot had come off second base as he caught Turang's throw, so the call was overturned. Mateo scored on the fielder's choice, cutting the lead to 3-2. "Obviously, it was close, but I didn't think it was enough to overturn," Pratt said, according to MLB.com. Rays manager Kevin Cash told reporters, "In the moment, I don't think he thought too strongly about it," referring to replay coordinator Nick Rogers. "At that point, why not challenge it?"

Megill then struck out DeLuca on a knuckle curve. "We talk about it all the time: When there's a challenge, do not walk off the mound," Murphy said. "He kept his composure, and that was the biggest at-bat of the game." Murphy also defended the ruling: "I think they got it right." According to Baseball-Reference, Misiorowski was credited with the win, Martinez took the loss, and Megill recorded his fifth save of the postseason.

CBS Sports' Mike Axisa reported that Friday's game was the first Game 1 of a World Series since 2000 without a home run, and that Hicks drove in both Tampa Bay runs on groundouts.

Game 2 on Saturday

Game 2 is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, Oct. 24, at American Family Field on FOX, with Drew Rasmussen starting for Tampa Bay and rookie Logan Henderson starting for Milwaukee, according to MLB.com. Cash held Rasmussen back from Game 1 to give him an extra day of rest. "We prioritized Drew getting an extra day," Cash said Thursday, as quoted by CBS Sports. CBS Sports reported that Rasmussen has allowed three runs in 21 innings over three postseason starts, and MLB.com reported that Henderson has allowed three earned runs in nine innings over two postseason starts.

After Game 2, the series moves to Tropicana Field for three games, and Games 6 and 7, if needed, would be played in Milwaukee, the BBC reported. The Rays lost their two previous World Series appearances, to the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008 and the Dodgers in 2020. "We came up a little bit short, but there's some benefit maybe from a loss," Cash said, as quoted by the BBC.