Brewers counting on Jacob Misiorowski to be in form vs. Rays in Game 1

MILWAUKEE -- The Milwaukee Brewers will be looking for hard-throwing Jacob Misiorowski to regain his dominant regular-season form against the visiting Tampa Bay Rays on Friday in the opening game of the World Series.

Misiorowski, who often tops 100 mph with his fastball, will be opposed by veteran right-hander Nick Martinez in a matchup of teams that have not won the World Series. It is the first meeting of two teams without a World Series title since the Philadelphia Phillies topped the Kansas City Royals in six games in 1980.

Milwaukee, which won a franchise-record 103 games during the regular season, advanced with a four-game sweep of the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series, while the Rays ousted the Cleveland Guardians in six games in the American League Championship Series.

The Brewers' only other World Series appearance was in 1982 when they were in the American League. The charismatic "Harvey's Wallbangers" lost 6-3 to the St. Louis Cardinals in the decisive seventh game.

The Rays will be making their third World Series appearance. They lost to Philadelphia in five games in 2008 and in six games to the Dodgers in 2020.

Misiorowski, considered the favorite for the NL Cy Young Award, was 16-5 with a 1.80 ERA and 252 strikeouts. The latter two stats were best in the majors.

But the 24-year-old right-hander did not make it through five innings in either postseason start, although the Brewers rallied to win both games. They topped the San Diego Padres 3-2 in Game 1 of the National League Division Series and the Dodgers 2-1 in the NLCS opener.

"I feel good. I feel like the first one might have been a little under what I expected, but the second one was pretty much right where I wanted to be," Misiorowski said.

Misiorowski worked out of trouble in his postseason starts, allowing three runs on nine hits in 8 1/3 innings with 11 strikeouts and four walks.

"He hasn't been as crisp," Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy said. "I don't think people are up there thinking it's going to be 104 (mph), and I think they're elated if it's anything less than that. They're obviously looking at an area. They're trying to exploit everything. He's exposed, like all these guys get at some point."

At the back end, the Brewers' bullpen has allowed six runs over 40 2/3 innings for a 1.33 ERA in the postseason. Closer Trevor Megill has four saves after collecting 30 in the regular season.

Milwaukee was last in the NL in home runs (154) during the regular season but leads all teams in the postseason with 10 homers in eight games. The Rays have hit seven in nine games.

Catcher William Contreras batted .367 with three homers and five RBIs over the Brewers' first two series. Outfielder Jackson Chourio hit .171, but he had two homers and a team-high seven RBIs.

Jake Bauers, who reached the majors with the Rays in 2018, was named the NLCS Most Valuable Player after hitting .286 with one homer and six RBIs against the Dodgers. Bauers set career highs with 26 homers and 86 RBIs during the regular season.

The 36-year-old Martinez pitched in the postseason with San Diego in 2022 and the Cincinnati Reds last season, but he will be making his World Series debut Friday. Ace Drew Rasmussen will start Game 2 with an extra day's rest, with former Brewers ace Freddy Peralta to follow in Game 3.

"It's exciting," Martinez said Thursday. "I think as a team, as a staff, we're confident in whoever we call up for the mound. It fell on me, and my job is just to rack up as many outs as we can and keep us in this ballgame."

Martinez picked up the win in Game 4 of the ALCS when the Rays evened the series with a 7-3 victory at Cleveland. He allowed one run on two hits in 5 1/3 innings.

"He was pitching in pretty cold weather in Cleveland," said Rays manager Kevin Cash, who was also at the helm for the 2020 World Series. "Made some adjustments, he got the strike throwing where he wanted, the cutter gone, and the changeup. I don't even know, somebody told me he changed his grip in between innings, between the first and second. I'm glad I didn't know that in the moment."

Martinez also started Game 3 in the Rays' ALDS sweep of the New York Yankees. He gave up two runs in 3 2/3 innings in an eventual 4-3 Tampa Bay victory.

Martinez is 0-1 with a 4.44 ERA in 12 regular-season games (seven starts) against Milwaukee. He has a 2.93 ERA in eight games at American Family Field.

Rays closer Bryan Baker, who tied for the MLB lead with 41 saves, has five saves in five postseason chances, pitching in seven of the nine games.

Third baseman Junior Caminero, whose 42 homers were second in the AL, has just one hit in 33 at-bats in the postseason.

--Jim Hoehn, Field Level Media