Brewers Open World Series With 3-2 Win Over Rays

The Milwaukee Brewers won the first game of the 122nd World Series 3-2 at home against the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday, and starting pitcher Jacob Misiorowski threw the fastest recorded pitch in the history of the Series.

His top speed was 103.5 mph. That beat the 103.2 mph mark set by Aroldis Chapman of the Chicago Cubs in 2016, although pitch speeds have only been tracked since 2008.

Misiorowski, 24, held the Rays to one run over five innings. He became the youngest starter since 1997 to win a World Series opener. "It was amazing - just to have the city behind me, it means the world, we couldn't ask for anything better," he said.

Designated hitter Christian Yelich scored one run and drove in another as the Brewers went ahead 3-1. Tampa Bay added a run in the final inning and had a runner on third base as it pushed to tie the score, but Milwaukee closed out the win. "It feels great. The guys settled in right away and did a great job," Yelich said. "We've still got a ways to go but nice to get that first one."

A rare pairing

Neither team has won the title before, which has happened only twice in more than a century. The Brewers are in only their second World Series and their first since losing to the St Louis Cardinals in 1982. They reached it by beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-0 for the National League pennant.

The Rays won the American League pennant with a 4-2 victory over the Cleveland Guardians, and this is only their third trip to the Series. They lost to the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008 and to the Dodgers in 2020. Manager Kevin Cash said the Rays took some comfort in testing the Brewers. "We came up a little bit short, but there's some benefit maybe from a loss," he said.

American Family Field has 41,900 seats, but standing-room tickets were sold for the game, and 43,250 fans attended. The Brewers host game two on Saturday. The teams then move to Florida for three games and return to Milwaukee for the final two, if they are needed.

Source: BBC Sport