Brew Crew pop the first top
Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Ben Williamson watches his broken bat land during Game 1 against the Brewers on Friday in Milwaukee. (David J. Phillip / The Associated Press)
MILWAUKEE — 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 hit into an apparent game-ending double play that was overturned after a replay review. The review determined that Brewers shortstop Cooper Pratt's right foot was slightly off the bag when he caught a 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.
Misiorowski broke the record for fastest World Series pitch with the very first offering of this year's Fall Classic, a 103.5 mph fastball from the Milwaukee Brewers' fireballer to the Tampa Bay Rays' Yandy Díaz on Friday night.
Misiorowski allowed a run and four hits over five innings with three strikeouts, leaving with a 2-1 lead.
His first pitch, taken for a ball above the strike zone, was listed at 103.4 mph on the stadium video boards but clocked at 103.5 by MLB's Statcast system.
Aroldis Chapman of the Chicago Cubs had set the mark for a Series pitcher at 103.2 mph in the ninth inning of Game 2 in 2016, an offering that resulted in a groundout to second by Cleveland's Coco Crisp.
A 24-year-old right-hander whose heat has captivated the sport since his debut in June 2025, Misiorowski easily outdistanced the previous high by a starting pitcher in the Series since tracking started in 2008. The New York Mets' Noah Syndergaard threw a 101.1 mph pitch to Kansas City's Ben Zobrist that was taken for a ball in the first inning of Game 3 in 2015.
Misiorowski reached 100 mph with 38 pitches, topping the previous Series high of 24 by Chapman in Game 5 of 2016. The most by a starting pitcher in the Series had been six by Tampa Bay's Tyler Glasnow in the 2020 opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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 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 per cent of the time.
— The Associated Press
BREWERS 3
RAYS 2