Advantage, Milwaukee: 4 Takeaways From The Brewers’ World Series Game 1 Win

American Family Field (MILWAUKEE) — The Brewers waited 44 years for this, and in Game 1 of the World Series, they made it count.

The Brewers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays, 3-1, at American Family Field behind Jacob Misiorowski’s five-inning effort, clutch swings from the offense, and an impressive performance from the bullpen.

The win puts Milwaukee one step closer to the organization’s first-ever ring. This World Series will produce a first-time champion, and it’s the first Fall Classic between title-less teams since the Phillies beat the Royals in 1980. For the Brewers, the wait stretches back to 1982, when they lost in seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals as, at the time, an American League club.

The Rays carry their own history into the fight. They lost their first World Series to the Phillies in 2008 and fell to the Dodgers in six games in 2020. Tampa Bay has never won it all either, and a Game 1 loss means the club must win in Milwaukee on Saturday to take back home-field advantage.

Here are my takeaways:

By now, the word is out on Brewers leadoff hitter Jackson Chourio. He loves to jump on the first pitch of his at-bats, particularly in high-leverage playoff moments. We saw it as recently as his first-pitch home run off Dodgers southpaw Blake Snell in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series. We saw it in last year’s NLCS, when he was all over a first-pitch fastball from Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto for another electric home run. He’s famous for being aggressive and doing damage on the first pitch.

It’s a wonder Chourio still gets pitches to hit to open his at-bats.

He struck gold again in the seventh inning against Rays right-hander Kevin Kelly, who threw him a 90.5 mph first-pitch sinker that fell too flat over the heart of the plate. Chourio ripped a 103 mph single to right field off Kelly, easily scoring shortstop Cooper Pratt from second base to pad the Brewers’ lead to 3-1.

Overall this postseason, Chourio has been more inconsistent than he would like. He entered the World Series with an underwhelming slashline of .171/.211/.343 (.553 OPS) with two home runs and seven RBI in eight postseason games. Both of those home runs were clutch, particularly his go-ahead two-run dinger off Padres right-hander Robbie Ray in Game 1 of the NLDS. But this Brewers lineup would be so much more dangerous with a more consistent Chourio leading off in the World Series.

Perhaps his 2-for-4 day at the plate in the series opener will help him get into that groove.

The Rays took a risk by starting right-hander Nick Martinez in Game 1. 

Martinez is decidedly not their best starter. That title belongs to right-handed ace Drew Rasmussen. Martinez is not even the Rays’ second-best rotation arm. That designation belongs to summer trade-deadline acquisition and NLCS MVP right-hander Freddy Peralta. Martinez got the Game 1 start, though, so Rasmussen and Peralta could each get an extra day of rest before toeing the rubber for Games 2 and 3, respectively.  

The Rays’ decision-making here made sense because nobody has pitched more innings this postseason than Rasmussen (21) and Peralta (16 2/3). Plus, Peralta pitched out of the bullpen in Game 4 of the ALCS. He returned to start Game 6 and was excellent, holding the Guardians to one run over 5 1/3 innings, but Rays manager Kevin Cash noticed his command was off toward the tail end of his last outing. They’ve asked a lot of Rasmussen and Peralta this October.

Martinez, meanwhile, entered his Game 1 start with just nine innings pitched this postseason. Well rested and raring to go, Martinez hit 95.2 mph with his four-seamer in the first inning against Jake Bauers. It was his fastest pitch in over three years. He struggled early, coughing up a pair of runs on three hits in the first inning. Then he made some adjustments and bounced back, striking out five of his next eight batters and retiring eight in a row to end the fourth.

The 36-year-old veteran has come a long way since rebuilding his career in Japan with Nippon Professional Baseball from 2018 to 2021. Friday night was easily the biggest start of his life. More than anything, Martinez kept the Rays in the game.

Tampa Bay’s risk paid off.

Overheard in the press box minutes before Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski threw his first pitch of the World Series were random guesses on what he would eclipse on the radar gun. It was the question on everyone’s mind after watching Misiorowski break record after record with his elite fastball velocity since he jumped on the scene with his electric rookie season last year.

Of course, Misiorowski made history again.

The 24-year-old’s first pitch of the night clocked in at 103.5 mph. It instantly became the fastest pitch in World Series history since the pitch tracking era began in 2008. The previous record was held by then-Cubs closer Aroldis Chapman’s 103.2 mph mark from the 2016 World Series. There was never any doubt.

Misiorowski was solid but not perfect in his first career start in the Fall Classic. He limited the Rays to one run and allowed four hits and one walk while striking out three batters over five innings and 78 pitches. He blew past his career innings total at the end of May, so a shorter and less-efficient outing was always expected from Milwaukee’s flamethrower.

He probably could’ve come back out for the sixth inning, but his command was shaky and there was no need to risk another frame in a tight one-run ballgame with a fully rested Brewers bullpen waiting to be deployed. Misiorowski did his job, and why not? He set another record in the process. 

The Brewers and Rays entered this Fall Classic representing the top fundamental teams in Major League Baseball. Both clubs have made it their identity to play sharp defense, avoid committing silly errors, and emphasize speed as one of their biggest strengths by making heads-up plays and running the bases extremely well. Knowing all of that, we expected this to be one of the cleanest World Series in recent memory.

Whether it was the pressure of the moment, the intense and loud atmosphere, the nerves of playing for their franchise’s first-ever championship, or a combination of all three, both Milwaukee and Tampa Bay made costly and uncharacteristic mistakes in Game 1.

No blunder loomed larger than Rays right fielder Victor Mesa Jr.’s decision to steal third base with two outs and one of their top hitters at the plate in the fifth inning. The Rays trailed the Brewers, 2-1, when designated hitter Yandy Diaz dug in with the tying run in scoring position on second base. Diaz hit .370 with runners in scoring position this year, which was the best mark in the majors. The rocking crowd of 43,250 was tense then, knowing it was Tampa Bay’s biggest threat of the game so far.

Diaz fell behind in the count 1-2 against Misiorowski when Mesa decided to take off for third. Contreras ranked second in the majors this year with 25 runners caught stealing. The Brewers backstop was ready. Contreras fired a perfect throw to third baseman David Hamilton and caught Mesa stealing for the final out of the inning. The Rays’ big threat was over with a whimper. Those chances rarely come back around in the Fall Classic, let alone against the Brewers.

While both clubs made questionable choices on the basepaths, Tampa Bay’s wasted opportunity carried more weight in Game 1.

4 ½. What’s Next?

The Brewers will send right-hander Logan Henderson to start Game 2 of the World Series against Rays ace Rasmussen on Saturday night at American Family Field.

Henderson recorded a 2.47 ERA and collected 110 strikeouts in 18 starts and 98 1/3 innings pitched in the regular season. In two starts this October against the Padres and Dodgers, Henderson has allowed three earned runs in nine innings while issuing five walks.

Rasmussen has been everything the Rays could ask for this postseason. He owns a brilliant 1.29 ERA and has struck out 23 batters across three starts. His sharp pitch mix has kept opposing hitters off balance, and his stamina for deep outings is a breath of fresh air for the Rays pitching staff.