Jacob Misiorowski
Jacob Misiorowski

MILWAUKEE — For the first time in 44 years, the World Series is coming back to Milwaukee. The Brewers will send the hardest thrower in baseball to the mound to start it.

Jacob Misiorowski, Milwaukee's 24-year-old right-hander, starts Game 1 against the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night at American Family Field. First pitch is set for 8:07 p.m. EDT on Fox. Tampa Bay counters with 36-year-old veteran Nick Martinez.

Neither franchise has won a World Series, so this year's Fall Classic will produce a first-time champion.

The matchup features baseball's two best regular-season teams. Milwaukee won a major league-best 103 games, and Tampa Bay had the American League's best record. Both teams also run low payrolls in small markets. The Brewers were 19th in payroll as of Aug. 31, in the majors' smallest market. The Rays were 25th.

Record heat

Misiorowski threw 1,115 pitches of 100 mph or faster this season, by far the most since pitch tracking began in 2008. The previous high was 673. His fastest pitch, at 105.5 mph, came against the Chicago Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong on June 27. His first pitch of the National League Division Series against San Diego was clocked at 104.8 mph, the fastest postseason pitch on record.

Despite that velocity, the rookie has not finished the fifth inning in either of his two postseason starts. Hitters swung at 94 of his 182 postseason pitches and fouled off 51.

"He hasn't been as crisp," Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. "He's exposed, like all these guys get at some point."

Misiorowski will be well rested, having gone 11 days between starts. He acknowledged the moment is new to him.

"I'm still fresh to all of this and I have no idea what the hell is going on," he said.

Rays' veteran answer

Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash chose Martinez over ace Drew Rasmussen for the opener. That gives Rasmussen an extra day of rest before Game 2. Freddy Peralta, a former Brewer who was named AL Championship Series MVP, is lined up for Game 3 at Tropicana Field on Monday.

Martinez, a first-time All-Star this year, went 31 starts with a 3.10 ERA over 180 innings. Tampa Bay went 24-9 in his starts. He has been far better on the road, with a 2.38 ERA in 16 road starts compared with 3.90 at home.

He has stayed effective in October. In two road starts, against the New York Yankees in the AL Division Series and the Cleveland Guardians in the ALCS, he allowed three runs over nine innings combined. He becomes the third Rays pitcher to start a World Series opener, after Scott Kazmir in 2008 and Tyler Glasnow in 2020.

Martinez credited the clubhouse.

"Getting the guys together is important," he said. "Creating that off-the-field chemistry translates to on the field."

How they got here

Milwaukee has lost just once this postseason. The Brewers beat San Diego 3-1 in the Division Series, including a walk-off win by Jackson Chourio in Game 2. They then swept the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Championship Series. That made them the first team to sweep an opponent that had swept them the previous postseason. First baseman Jake Bauers was named NLCS MVP.

Tampa Bay swept the Yankees in the Division Series. After falling behind 2-1 in the ALCS, the Rays won three straight against Cleveland, clinching the pennant with a 7-3 victory in Game 6 on Junior Caminero's two-run homer and a late solo shot by Yandy Díaz.

The Brewers' bullpen has been the story of their October. Milwaukee relievers allowed six earned runs in 40⅔ postseason innings. Their top four arms, Trevor Megill, Abner Uribe, Aaron Ashby and DL Hall, have combined for a 0.61 ERA. Catcher William Contreras leads the offense with a 1.157 OPS this postseason.

Small ball on display

Both teams win in unconventional ways. Tampa Bay struck out the fewest times of any team in the majors and laid down 45 sacrifice bunts, the most by an AL team since 2015.

"If we had a club that was built with a bunch of boppers, we probably wouldn't be bunting and stealing bases," Cash said. "I think we already have made bunting cool."

Rays reliever Steven Matz said the bullpen enjoys watching the offense work.

"We love watching those guys cause chaos," Matz said. "Every time it's first and third and someone lays down a bunt, we are just dying laughing in the bullpen."

Brewers captain Christian Yelich, the highest-paid player in the Series, said Milwaukee has adapted to whatever each game requires, saying "we've done a good job of being kind of chameleons."

Misiorowski agreed.

"It's cool that you don't have to be the team to hit 170 home runs a game or whatever," he said. "You can win a baseball game so many different ways."

Long layoff

The Brewers have not played since finishing their NLCS sweep. Murphy dismissed concerns about rust.

"It's a long layoff, and if we want to use it as an excuse, then let people use it as an excuse," Murphy said, "but I refuse to do that."

He said the team stayed sharp with live at-bats during the break. "You can't recreate real, you know what I mean?" he said.

History at stake

Game 1 will be the first World Series game at American Family Field, which opened in 2001. Milwaukee last hosted a World Series game in 1982 at County Stadium, when the Brewers, then an American League team, lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. This is only their second Series appearance.

The Rays, founded in 1998, are making their third World Series trip. They lost to Philadelphia in 2008 and to the Dodgers in 2020, when Cash was also their manager. Cash is now the majors' longest-tenured manager. Murphy won NL Manager of the Year in each of the past two seasons.

Brewers principal owner Mark Attanasio credited fans and local support for helping a small-market team compete.

"I used to use the words punch above our weight, and the payroll and whatnot reflects that," he said.

Game 2 is Saturday night in Milwaukee, with Rasmussen expected to face Brewers right-hander Logan Henderson. The Series shifts to Tampa Bay for Games 3, 4 and 5 beginning Monday. If needed, Games 6 and 7 return to Milwaukee on Oct. 30 and 31.