Game result and context
Brewers 3, Rays 2: Yelich's first-inning triple holds up in World Series Game 1
The Brewers scored twice in the first and never gave up the lead, beating Tampa Bay 3-2 in Game 1 of the World Series. Trevor Megill struck out Jonny DeLuca with the tying run on third to end it.
Christian Yelich lined a triple to center fielder Jonny DeLuca in the bottom of the first inning, scoring Jackson Chourio, and the Milwaukee Brewers never gave the lead back. They beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 in Game 1 of the World Series at American Family Field before 43,250.
William Contreras followed with a sharp single to left that deflected off shortstop Taylor Walls, and Yelich scored to make it 2-0. The game had no lead changes after that, though neither side made it easy. The Brewers left 16 runners on base and the Rays left 12.
The triple came from a hitter who batted .235 over 118 regular-season games. Yelich has been steadier in October: he is 8-for-28 (.286) this postseason, including 1-for-4 with an RBI in this game, and he had gone hitless in his previous two NLCS games.
Tampa Bay's pressure ran through Jonathan Aranda, who went 3-for-3 with a walk and scored the Rays' first run. In the fourth, Junior Caminero doubled to center to send Aranda to third, and Liam Hicks grounded out to bring him home and cut the lead to 2-1. Hicks drove in both Rays runs on ground outs and finished 0-for-4. Caminero had also lined into a double play in the first with Aranda aboard.
Jacob Misiorowski worked five innings for the win, allowing four hits and one earned run with three strikeouts on 78 pitches. He finished the regular season with a 1.80 ERA and 252 strikeouts in 174.2 innings; his postseason ERA stands at 2.70 over three starts, none of them longer than five innings. Abner Uribe and Aaron Ashby covered the next three innings, with Ashby retiring the Rays without a hit over 1.2 innings and striking out three.
Nick Martinez matched him for five innings, giving up five hits and two earned runs without a walk, and took the loss. The Rays' bullpen was less tidy. Steven Matz walked three in 1.2 innings and was charged with an earned run, and Kevin Kelly allowed three hits while getting one out. In the seventh, Chourio singled on a ground ball to right to score Cooper Pratt and make it 3-1. Chourio went 2-for-4; he is hitting .205 this postseason but has driven in eight runs.
That run mattered in the ninth. Trevor Megill, who converted 30 of 33 save chances in the regular season and entered the night with a scoreless postseason, allowed two hits and a walk. Hicks grounded into a force play that the Rays challenged twice; one call was overturned, the other upheld, and Jorge Mateo scored to make it 3-2. With Chandler Simpson on third and Caminero on second, DeLuca struck out swinging to end the game. Megill's postseason ERA is now 1.35.
Milwaukee leads the series 1-0 and has won six straight, improving to 8-1 this postseason and 4-1 in one-run games. Tampa Bay, 7-3 in October, lost for the first time since Oct. 15 against Cleveland. Both teams came in scoring fewer runs per game than they did in September: the Brewers are at 4.11 this postseason and the Rays at 3.70.