Brewers survive ninth-inning scare to edge Rays 3-2 in World Series opener

The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 on Friday night at American Family Field in Milwaukee to take a 1-0 lead in the World Series (Reuters report; Sportradar: Milwaukee Brewers 3-2 Tampa Bay Rays).

Jacob Misiorowski allowed one run over five innings for the win, opening the game with a 103.5 mph fastball — the fastest pitch in World Series history, Reuters reported. Milwaukee scored twice in the first inning off Nick Martinez: Jackson Chourio singled on the first pitch and scored on Christian Yelich’s triple, before William Contreras drove Yelich home with a single (Reuters report).

Chourio’s RBI single in the seventh inning put the Brewers 3-1 up, and that run proved decisive. In the ninth, closer Trevor Megill loaded the bases with one out, and a grounder from Liam Hicks looked like a game-ending double play — until a video review showed shortstop Cooper Pratt had been pulled off second base, leaving Junior Caminero safe and allowing Jorge Mateo to score to make it 3-2 (Reuters report; USA Today).

With the tying run on third and the winning run on second, Megill struck out Jonny DeLuca for his fifth postseason save in five chances, and the Brewers held on (Reuters report). Milwaukee’s only other World Series appearance was a seven-game loss in 1982, Reuters noted. Game 2 is on Saturday at American Family Field (USA Today).