The Milwaukee Brewers waited 44 years to play another World Series game. When it finally arrived on Friday night, they made the home crowd sweat right to the very last pitch, and then some.

Milwaukee beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 in Game 1 of the 2026 World Series in front of 43,250 fans at American Family Field, taking a 1-0 lead in a Fall Classic that will crown a first-time champion either way. Here is how it unfolded, based on reporting from ESPN, BBC Sport and MLB.com.

A record-setting start from Misiorowski

Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski set the tone with his very first pitch of the night, a 103.5 mph fastball to Yandy Díaz that became the fastest recorded pitch in World Series history. The previous mark of 103.2 mph was set by Aroldis Chapman in 2016, though pitch speeds have only been tracked since 2008.

Misiorowski went five innings and allowed one run to earn the win. According to the BBC, the 24-year-old became the youngest starter since 1997 to win a World Series opener. “It’s everything I dreamed of,” he told ESPN.

Milwaukee strikes early

The Brewers jumped on Rays starter Nick Martinez right away. Jackson Chourio led off the bottom of the first with a single and scored on a triple by captain Christian Yelich. Catcher William Contreras followed with a hard-hit ball off the glove of shortstop Taylor Walls to bring Yelich home for a 2-0 lead.

Tampa Bay got one back in the fourth on a walk by Jonathan Aranda, a double from Junior Caminero and a groundout from Liam Hicks. Contreras then helped Misiorowski out of the fifth by throwing out Victor Mesa Jr. trying to steal third.

Martinez settled in after the rough first inning, and the game stayed tight until the seventh, when Chourio singled home rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt to make it 3-1.

The bullpen does its job

Milwaukee’s bullpen has been its secret weapon all October, and it delivered again. Abner Uribe recorded four outs, and Aaron Ashby added five more, extending his postseason scoreless streak to 14 innings, according to ESPN.

That left closer Trevor Megill to finish the job in the ninth. It turned out to be anything but simple.

The out that wasn’t

The Rays loaded the bases with back-to-back singles from Aranda and Chandler Simpson and a walk to Caminero. Hicks then bounced a ground ball to second baseman Brice Turang, who started what looked like a game-ending double play. Fireworks went off and the stadium celebrated.

But the Rays challenged, and replay showed Pratt’s foot was just off the second-base bag when the ball reached his glove. The out at second was overturned. Tampa Bay had pulled within 3-2, and the game resumed with the tying and go-ahead runs at second and third.

Megill stayed loose during the review, then faced Jonny DeLuca. After falling behind 2-1, he dropped in two curveballs. DeLuca swung through the second one in the dirt, and the Brewers celebrated for the second time in a few minutes.

“It’s good to get the first win out of the way,” Megill said afterward.

What’s next

The pressure now shifts to Tampa Bay. The Rays will hand the ball to Drew Rasmussen, the best starter of this postseason, in Game 2 on Saturday in Milwaukee, against Brewers rookie Logan Henderson. After that, the series moves to Florida for three games before returning to Milwaukee for Games 6 and 7 if needed.

“This series is going to be a dogfight,” Martinez said. On the evidence of Game 1, he is probably right.

Image: Stadium Gymnasium by David Mcbee via StockSnap, CC0 1.0