MILWAUKEE -- For a Milwaukee Brewers organization that waited 44 years between World Series games, nobody minded the few extra minutes it took to win Game 1 on Friday.
Undaunted after a seemingly game-ending double play was overturned on replay review, Brewers closer Trevor Megill struck out Jonny DeLuca to secure the final out in a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in front of 43,250 at a raucous American Family Field.
The victory came after a seven-day layoff for the Brewers, the best team in Major League Baseball this season and National League champions after sweeping the reigning champion Los Angeles Dodgers. On an evening that celebrated all things Wisconsin -- from the presence of local luminaries to an accordion-accompanied sing-along -- the Brewers followed the formula that has thrust them to the cusp of their first championship in franchise history: excellent pitching, superlative defense and just enough offense.
"It's everything I dreamed of," said Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski, who earned the victory after five innings of one-run ball and registered the fastest pitch in World Series history at 103.5 mph on his delivery of the game. "It's really cool that we got to do it here in Milwaukee. It's been awesome to feel the city and feel just the atmosphere they've been creating."
The atmosphere in the ninth went from celebratory to tense in moments. Tampa Bay, struggling to catch up to Milwaukee's hard-throwing pitchers who averaged 100.1 mph on 79 fastballs thrown in Game 1, muted the rowdiness with back-to-back singles from Jonathan Aranda and Chandler Simpson, followed by a Junior Caminero walk to load the bases.
When Liam Hicks hit a ground ball to the right side, Platinum Glove-winning second baseman Brice Turang fielded it, whirled toward second base and fired a throw to shortstop Cooper Pratt, who returned it to first baseman Jake Bauers to secure what looked like a magnificent defensive play to end Game 1. In-stadium fireworks went off, leaving clouds of smoke hanging over the field. Glory Days" played on the stadium speakers, evoking thoughts of 1982, when Harvey's Wallbangers ran through the American League with Hall of Famers Robin Young and Paul Molitor in their primes, only to lose the World Series in seven games to St. Louis -- another small-market team.
But the Rays successfully challenged the play after video replay showed Pratt's right foot barely off the second-base bag when the ball hit his glove. Though in past years umpires overlooked the so-called neighborhood play -- in which a fielder at second simply needed to be in the neighborhood of the base for an out to be called -- replay allows umpires far more precision.
"We were kind of like, 'Hey, good win, boys,'" said Pratt, the Brewers' rookie shortstop. "It would've been a lot cooler if we did that. A little less stress."
Stress was no impediment for Megill, the 32-year-old who, like so many Brewers players, found the most success of his big league career since his arrival to Milwaukee. About halfway through the replay challenge, Megill started throwing to keep his arm loose. He saw the video and understood the final out was still needed -- and that with runners still at second and third, a DeLuca single would have pushed the Rays ahead.
"You got to think worst-case scenario there," Megill said. "I thought the challenge was at first base, maybe a bobble or something. But it was pretty clear once the replay went up that it was on the play at second base and, zoomed in, didn't look too good."
After missing a pair of fastballs high and running the count to 2-1, Megill unfurled a dastardly 90 mph curveball that landed at the bottom of the strike zone to even the count. He doubled up on the curve, and DeLuca flailed at it in the dirt, ending Game 1 for real and setting off a second round of fireworks and celebratory songs.
The Brewers had plenty of reasons to revel. A tone-setting first inning, in which Jackson Chourio led off with a single and scored on a triple by Brewers captain Christian Yelich. Brewers catcher William Contreras followed with a rocket off the glove of Rays shortstop Taylor Walls, plating Yelich for a 2-0 advantage. Tampa Bay halved the deficit with an Aranda walk, Caminero double and Hicks groundout in the fourth. Misiorowski escaped that jam with limited damage, then snuck out of the next inning after Contreras caught Victor Mesa Jr. trying to steal third for the third out.
"He's so talented. He's such a special pitcher," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "I felt like for him to be out of the game at five innings, there's a small win in that."
But even though Misiorowski was out of the game, it meant that the Brewers' bullpen was in. Perhaps the biggest weapon of Milwaukee's run to the World Series, its bullpen -- particularly Abner Uribe, Aaron Ashby and Megill -- did what it has done all October. Four outs from Uribe to get into the seventh, when Milwaukee tacked on its third run on a Chourio single to score Pratt. Five outs from Ashby, who extended his postseason scoreless streak to 14 innings. And then Megill, who before Game 1 hadn't allowed a postseason run either.
"Both teams do damn near everything very well," said Rays starter Nick Martinez, who after a tricky first inning was excellent over the next four he pitched. "One thing I'm certain about my group is that we're fighters. We know that about that group, too. This series is going to be a dogfight."
On Friday, at least, the ones barking loudest were the Brewers, who face an even tougher task Saturday when Drew Rasmussen -- the best starter this postseason -- starts for the Rays after they gave him an extra day of rest. He'll oppose Brewers rookie Logan Henderson, who, like Misiorowski, has been limited to shorter starts this postseason to allow for bullpen magic.
"It's good to get the first win out of the way," Megill said. "That's where all the nerves are at in this first game. A lot of anticipation and buildup to where we're at right now. To get that first one out of the way with a win is a big step in the right direction there."
