MILWAUKEE — In a World Series between two teams that thrive on winning small things, it was only right that Game 1 of the game’s highlights would be decided by the thinnest of margins.
No major-league team had a better record in single-run games during the regular season than the Tampa Bay Rays at 25-14, one of the many indicators of the club’s comfort when it comes to executing on both sides of the ball. But on Friday at American Family Field, the Brewers who were on the right side just enough of a coin-flip game en route to a 3-2 Game 1 victory, which was enough for a sold-out crowd of 43,250 to feast on the city’s first World Series game in 44 years.
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From the very start of Game 1, the scales seemed ever-so-slightly in favor of Milwaukee at the top. Yandy Díaz lifted a third pitch from Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski deep into right field, where it landed on the ball of Sal Frelick, despite hitting home runs in 10 of 30 MLB ballparks, according to Statcast. Jonathan Aranda and Chandler Simpson followed with two singles to give June Caminero a golden opportunity to lead off the morning, but Caminero lined a single to shortstop Cooper Pratt, who quickly doubled it to second base for Aranda to end the inning.
To no one’s surprise, Jackson Chourio overturned the first pitch from Rays starter Nick Martinez and threw it into right field to lead off the game for Milwaukee, releasing some of the tension that had built up when several baserunners reached against Misiorowski. That tension turned into ecstasy when captain Christian Yelich drove a home run from Martinez into right-center field. Jonny DeLuca ran back and tried to make a catch, but to no avail; The ball found the grass beyond the outstretched glove.
“I thought Jonny covered a lot of ground right there to make it a close play,” manager Kevin Cash said afterward.
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Only three outfielders (Pete Crow-Armstrong, Ceddanne Rafaela and Michael Harris II) have racked up more Outs Above Average than DeLuca in the regular season. The idea that Yelich could make spectacular plays was totally improbable. But he didn’t, so it was 1-0 Brewers, with Yelich running to third base for his first triple since July 22′.
That brought the Tampa Bay infield to try with a runner on third-and-right for a loss. So when William Contreras fired the first pitch, shortstop Taylor Walls — whose anticipation and start are the first steps you’ll see from an infielder — didn’t have enough to deal with. Contreras’ 108.4 mph screamer bounced off the wall and into left field to drive in Yelich and make it 2-0 Milwaukee. Martinez then struck out Brice Turang and Garrett Mitchell with a terrific changeup, but the feeling in the Tampa Bay dugout walking to the mound was more unfamiliar: It was the first time since Sept. 2 Rays scored multiple runs in the first inning.
If these early defensive tendencies weren’t frustrating enough, the Rays went on to put up a series of tight contests with scoring chances, only to pass the plate twice at the end of the night. Caminero managed to break out in the fourth with his hardest fastball, a 112.7-mph laser shot over center fielder Garrett Mitchell’s head for a double that moved Jonathan Aranda, who led off to third with a walk. That Liam Hicks RBI groundout made it 2-1, but in the end, the fourth inning ended with several unproductive chances to add more and make Milwaukee sweat.
When Díaz faced Misiorowski at third with two out in the fifth, Victor Mesa Jr. he tried to steal third base in an 0-2 count, only to be dropped by Contreras with a perfect throw and an even more perfect tag by third baseman David Hamilton.
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“In the end, Victor really competes, he tries to make something happen, he puts a little bit of pressure on the defense,” Cash said later. “And he didn’t do it for us.”
The inning ended and Misiorowski exited after just 78 pitches, as the bullpen did an excellent job of handling the final four innings.
With Martinez keeping the Milwaukee bats quiet from a two-through-five inning, the Rays’ second chance of offense arose in the sixth, when Aranda scored on a single against Abner Uribe. But in the full count of Simpson, Aranda’s slowness removed him for second, counting Simpson on contact with the bat of the ball. But Uribe throws a slip and is cooked into a rare blow for the tribe. Aranda — an active player with two career plate appearances without stealing a base — was thrown out at second after being caught stealing in the book, but had a hit and a run in the inning.
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Earlier on Friday, Simpson had hit that mark once, looking at a hitter against Gerrit Cole in ALDS Game 1 that required an ABS challenge to overturn a call for striking the ball at three. In Game 1 of the Fall Classic, Misiorowski and Uribe combined to hand Simpson his first multi-hit game since June 9. It was that kind of night for Tampa Bay.
After Chourio hit an insurance run in the seventh to make it 3-1, the final stretch of frustration for the Rays came in the top of the ninth inning. Tampa Bay managed to load the bases with a single against Milwaukee closer Trevor Megill, offering one last hope of stealing Game 1 on the road. Hicks then looked like a double play in the snow — so much so that the postgame process began, with a crowd of league officials and television crews clamoring onto the field — only to have the game overturned.
Pratt’s foot turned from second base, which Caminero was safe at second, and Hicks was out at first. With that, it was 3-2 with the tying run in the third and the lead in the second. That highlight blew to the full potential of the possibility — but then DeLuca struck on a curve from Megill on the hunt.
It’s not hard to see how Game 1 unfolded as something of a missed opportunity for Tampa Bay, especially given the final margin.
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It seemed more liberal, though, as the Rays hung tough for the NL champs without using any of their top relievers, with Milwaukee leaning heavily on their bullpen arms at the top, a combination that could pay dividends as the series progresses. The Rays also went to bat against Misiorowski and Co. they have gathered some quality. They didn’t look equal, but they simply failed to capitalize. Tampa Bay seems to have added starting points advantages over the next two games with Drew Rasmussen and Freddy Peralta, and undoubtedly the Rays are retracing their way into this series.
But against teams like the Brewers, there are far fewer misses than what we saw on Friday.