MILWAUKEE (AP) — Trevor Megill was shouting in celebration and the Milwaukee Brewers were coming out of the dugout to congratulate themselves, believing they had just escaped a ninth-inning jam to win Game 1 of the World Series.
Not quite yet.
What was initially considered a game-ending double play was overturned after a video review showed that Brewers shortstop Cooper Pratt’s right foot was slightly out of the bag when he caught a high throw from second baseman Brice Turang.
No problem.
Megill regrouped and struck out Jonny DeLuca with two runners in scoring position as Milwaukee beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 on Friday night.
“It’s good to get the first win,” Megill said. “That’s where all the nerves are. First game, a lot of anticipation and preparation to get to where we are right now.”
The ninth inning was particularly testing for the Brewers and the sold-out crowd attending Milwaukee’s first World Series game since 1982.
“You have a wide range of emotions,” said team captain Christian Yelich, whose RBI triple in the first gave the Brewers the lead for good. “It’s a credit to Trev for coming back and making a huge argument after going through that emotional release and then having to get back into it.”
Tampa Bay trailed 3-1 and hadn’t put on a runner since the sixth until it tried to come back against Megill.
Jonathan Aranda, who went 3 for 3 with a walk, and Chandler Simpson had back-to-back singles with one out. A double steal involving pinch runners Jorge Mateo and Simpson put runners at second and third before Junior Caminero walked on a 3-2 pitch in the dirt to load the bases.
Liam Hicks hit a grounder to the right side and Turang positioned himself well to his left to field the ball before throwing it to Pratt to start. what was initially called a 4-6-3 double play.
Fireworks erupted, players flocked to the field and Milwaukee fans roared. But then the crowd fell silent as they watched the play on the video board again.
“You have to think about the worst-case scenario,” Megill said. “I thought the challenge was at first base, maybe a bounce or something. But it was pretty clear once the replay was on that it was on the play at second base. I zoomed in and it didn’t look good. Everything’s good. We got Cooper back there. He’ll be picking us up tomorrow.”
The out call on second was changed to safety by umpire Alfonso Márquez at the MLB Replay Center, which surprised Pratt.
“Obviously it was close,” the 22-year-old rookie said. “I just didn’t think it was enough to tip over, so I didn’t think anything of it. The video I saw, I thought my wedge was dragging. … There had to be other angles that I didn’t see. It ultimately didn’t matter because we won.”
The Brewers won because Megill got DeLuca to swing and miss on a 2-2 throw, capping a night in which Tampa Bay went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position.
“It’s an extremely confident group,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “You know that. We know that. They’re going to be fine. I think the frustration came from the fact that we were just one swing away from potentially taking the lead.”
The winner of Game 1 has won the World Series 62.8% of the time.
This is the first World Series featuring two teams seeking their first championship since 1980, when the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Kansas City Royals in six games. The only other major league clubs without a World Series title are the Colorado Rockies, San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners.
Milwaukee took a 2-0 lead in the first inning against Nick Martinez. NL Cy Young Award favorite Jacob Misiorowski allowed one run and four hits in five innings to help the Brewers stay in front before relievers Abner Uribe and Aaron Ashby shut down the Rays until the eighth.
Misiorowski, who had a season-low three strikeouts, opened the game with a 103.5 mph fastball – the fastest pitch ever thrown in a World Series.
“The adrenaline took over, I tensed up and threw hard,” said Misiorowski, who took the victory. “Then I settled in, and that was the game plan, settle in and get done. Don’t try to do too much.”
Milwaukee’s Jackson Chourio and William Contreras each had two hits, including an RBI single. Contreras also threw out two runners who were trying to steal.
Tampa Bay was able to hold on thanks in part to Martinez, who gave up those two runs in the first but held Milwaukee scoreless for the remainder of its five-inning stint. The Brewers added an insurance run in the seventh when Chourio hit Pratt on a single.
Then came all the action in the ninth, with the Brewers’ premature celebration followed by a sigh of relief from the entire team as Pratt offered some parting words to Megill.
“I just said, ‘Thanks, man. Thanks for picking me up,'” Pratt said. “That’s what this game is. It’s a pick-me-up game. He came for me today.”
To be continued
Drew Rasmussen (16-5, 2.67 ERA) pitches for Tampa Bay and Logan Henderson (11-3, 2.47) starts for Milwaukee in Game 2 Saturday night. In this postseason, Rasmussen is 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA and Henderson is 0-0 with a 3.00 ERA.
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