Jacob Misiorowski threw the fastest pitch in World Series history and Trevor Megill survived a replay-twisted ninth as Milwaukee took Game 1.
Milwaukee has its first World Series win in 44 years. The Brewers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 in Game 1 on Friday night, and a pitch of 103.5 mph from starter Jacob Misiorowski set the tone, according to MLB.com, BBC Sport and the Guardian.
A record on the very first pitch
Misiorowski opened the game with a four-seam fastball to Yandy Díaz that MLB.com says is the fastest pitch in World Series history since tracking began in 2008. It passed the 103.2 mph Aroldis Chapman threw for the Cubs in 2016. Ten of his fastballs in the first inning topped 101 mph, MLB.com reports, including five above 102.
The outing itself was less overpowering. Misiorowski allowed one run on four hits across five innings and finished with a season-low three strikeouts. "Not perfect, but good enough to get a win," he said, per the Guardian.
Yelich lights it up, Megill survives the ninth
Milwaukee scored twice in the first. Jackson Chourio singled, then captain Christian Yelich drove in a run with a triple in his first World Series plate appearance, and William Contreras followed with an RBI single. The Brewers added a third run in the seventh. MLB.com also credits Contreras with throwing out two Rays runners.
The ninth was messier. Tampa Bay loaded the bases against closer Trevor Megill, and what looked like a game-ending double play was overturned on replay because shortstop Cooper Pratt's foot came off the bag. A run scored and the Rays had runners on second and third. Megill then struck out Jonny DeLuca to finish it.
"I thought Coop had him, and obviously I was wrong," Misiorowski said, according to the Guardian. Rays manager Kevin Cash said he felt good about DeLuca batting against Megill with two outs.
What comes next
BBC Sport notes this is only the second time in more than a century that neither finalist had won the title before, and the first Brewers appearance in the finale since 1982. A crowd of 43,250 packed American Family Field. Game 2 is Saturday at 8pm ET on Fox, and the series then moves to Florida for three games.
Our read, for what it is worth: a team that scored two runs in the first and then leaned on its bullpen looks like it knows exactly how it wants to win this series. The Rays, who had not put a runner on since the sixth until the ninth, will need to find offence earlier.
Picture credit: MLB (team logos). Design: Savvy VibeZ
