Brewers Beat Rays 3-2 in World Series Game 1 as Ex-Cub Trevor Megill Closes It Out
Milwaukee drew first blood Friday at American Family Field, with early runs and former Cubs reliever Trevor Megill sealing the win — giving the Brewers a 1-0 series lead over Tampa Bay.
The Milwaukee Brewers opened the 2026 World Series with a 3-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night at American Family Field, taking Game 1 of a Fall Classic that will crown a first-time champion no matter who wins.
Milwaukee put early runs on the board against Tampa Bay's pitching staff.
The final margin was provided by former Chicago Cubs reliever Trevor Megill, who closed out the game for the Brewers, according to Yahoo Sports. Milwaukee held on for the one-run win, taking a 1-0 series lead.
Game 1 started at approximately 8 p.m. ET, with Jacob Misiorowski on the mound for Milwaukee and Nick Martinez starting for Tampa Bay, according to worldbaseball.com. Misiorowski — who finished the regular season 16-5 with a 1.80 ERA and 250 strikeouts, putting him in line for an NL Cy Young award — faced a Rays lineup built around designated hitter Yandy Díaz, first baseman Jonathan Aranda, and third baseman Junior Caminero.
The series matchup itself is without precedent: neither franchise has ever won a World Series. Milwaukee last reached the Fall Classic in 1982, losing to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. Tampa Bay appeared in 2008 and 2020 without winning. According to Fox Sports, for the first time since the Texas Rangers in 2023, a team that has never won the World Series will go home with the Commissioner's Trophy.
The Brewers arrived as the hotter team. Milwaukee finished 103-59, the best record in baseball, and entered Game 1 at 7-1 in the postseason after sweeping the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS. The Rays, who went 98-64, swept the New York Yankees in the ALDS before dispatching Cleveland in six games in the ALCS — clinching on a 7-3 win on October 19.
Milwaukee's roster carries several layers of storyline. Aaron Ashby, who threw three scoreless innings to close out the NLCS, had not allowed a run in 12 1/3 innings this postseason entering Game 1, according to worldbaseball.com. He is the nephew of Andy Ashby, a two-time All-Star who started Game 2 of the 1998 World Series for San Diego. Four Brewers — William Contreras, Jackson Chourio, Antonio Senzatela, and Ángel Zerpa — won the World Baseball Classic with Venezuela in March; if they win the Series, they would be the first Latino players to win both in the same year, per worldbaseball.com.
For Tampa Bay, right fielder Víctor Mesa Jr. adds his own backstory. Born in Havana in 2001, he left Cuba with his father and brother in May 2018, signed with Miami, and came to the Rays in a February trade. His father, Víctor Mesa — known as 'El Loco' — is one of the most decorated players in Cuban baseball history, with a .318 average, 273 home runs, and 14 stolen base titles over 19 seasons, and led Cuba to gold at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics with a .560 average and nine RBIs in that tournament, according to worldbaseball.com.
Game 2 is Saturday in Milwaukee, with Logan Henderson starting for the Brewers. The series then shifts to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg for Games 3, 4, and 5 if necessary, before returning to American Family Field for Games 6 and 7. Every game airs on FOX, with Spanish-language coverage on FOX Deportes and national radio on ESPN Radio. Streaming is available through FOX One; Fubo and DIRECTV also carry the games. SiriusXM carries the radio broadcast, with the Rays on channel 202 and the Brewers on channel 203, according to The Sporting News.
Since 2000, the team that wins Game 1 of the World Series has gone on to win the series 76.9 percent of the time, according to worldbaseball.com. Milwaukee, already the favorite at -189 on the money line for Game 1 per CBS Sports, now holds that edge.
Why it matters — For the first time in baseball history, both teams in the World Series are seeking their first championship — guaranteeing a new name on the trophy and making every game a potential franchise-defining moment.
⚠ Not yet confirmed
- The full inning-by-inning details of how the Rays scored their two runs in Game 1 are not fully described in the sources
- specific first-inning plays by Yelich and Contreras
Reported by theguardian.com, sports.yahoo.com, foxnews.com, cbssports.com, foxsports.com, worldbaseball.com, thesportingpage.com, nbcsports.com, sportingnews.com
