Top 5 defining moments from the Brewers' surgical Game 1 World Series win

The first game of the 2026 World Series lived up to the hype in what turned out to be a hard-fought 3-2 Milwaukee Brewers victory for their first game back in the Fall Classic in 44 years. Coming down to the very last play of the game, twice, to be exact, both sides gave it their all.

Yet the Brewers prevailed by leaning into the strategic, patient style they've deployed all season to appease an incomparable Milwaukee crowd.

In a game with only a handful of runs scored, the beauty of this battle was in the details. These are arguably the two best defensive teams in the MLB, with elite, methodical play styles and a wealth of pitching talent throughout their rosters. It wasn't the prettiest game, but it was certainly played at an extremely high level.

When Brewers fans look back at the first game of this series, they'll remember the extra effort and undeniable strategy at play from their favorite team. These are the defining moments that turned the tide of this dogged battle.

1. Christian Yelich kicks off the World Series with a legendary triple.

It's the bottom of the first inning, and the crowd is absolutely losing its mind with excitement. Leadoff man Jackson Chourio hits a single to right field, and Jake Bauers goes out on a fly ball. The Captain, Christian Yelich, steps up to the plate. He takes a strike down the middle, then misses on a swing. With a 0-2 count, he makes contact on two foul balls before... BAM!

Yelich soars a historic shot, mere feet away from home run range, to send Chourio across home plate for the first run of the World Series. It's a moment that Yelich and Brewers fans will cherish forever, as it's only right that a foundational pillar of this team like Yeli is the first one to deliver when it matters most.

2. William Contreras keeps his postseason momentum going with his first World Series RBI.

Right after Yelich's 1st inning blast, the Brewers' hottest hitter, William Contreras, sent his own single into an empty pocket in left field, sending Yelich home across home plate. Although this was his only RBI of the night, Contreras singled twice and walked in his three at-bats, continuing his trend of absolutely dominating the postseason both at the plate and behind it.

Little did we know, Contreras was just getting started with the highlight plays.

3. Jacob Misiorowski controls a pivotal Yandy Díaz at-bat until Contreras catches Victor Mesa Jr. stealing.

It was another strong start for Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski, who earned the W and finished five innings giving up four hits and one earned run in five innings. He threw 56 strikes on 78 pitches, tallying three strikeouts in the process. And yet when it's all said and done, it's not outlandish to say he could've played even better than he did.

At the top of the fifth inning, Victor Mesa Jr. singled with a 2-2 count before Ben Williamson grounded out to advance Mesa to second. After a Taylor Walls chip shot fouled out to third, Misiorowski faced the 180-hit man, Yandy Díaz, with a runner in position. Misiorowski forced a swing on his first pitch, a foul on his second, and on a ball with his third pitch, Contreras tossed a heater to third base to catch Mesa running, closing out the inning in iconic fashion.

Wild Bill tried his best Misiorowski to close out the frame, and it worked to perfection.

4. Abner Uribe surges Brewers through a statement sixth inning, capped by another unreal Contreras rejection.

Poised and confident as we've ever seen him, Abner Uribe took the mound to relieve Misiorowski in the sixth inning, and the lineup couldn't be more daunting. He threw an early strike to Diaz, who then grounded out on a wicked slider for the first out of the inning.

Then, after another strike on a sinker and a foul ball to follow, Jonathan Aranda popped a single through to right field. He was the ultimate thorn in the Brewers' side, with three hits, a walk, and a run in the contest.

Finally, Chandler Simpson steps up to the plate for a seven-pitch back-and-forth with Uribe, who strikes him out on a slider into the bottom left corner of the strike zone, which Contreras promptly hurled like a meteor to second base, catching Aranada stealing to close out his second inning in a row. It may not be hyperbole to say that this might be the best stretch of baseball in Wild Bill's career.

It should be mentioned that Uribe only pitched one more out — a stellar strikeout against one of the toughest bats in the league, Junior Caminero. He threw 12 strikes on 15 pitches in one of the most mature and efficient outings we've seen from Uribe in some time. He was followed by Aaron Ashby, who, despite not making this list with a specific moment, was another MVP for Milwaukee in its World Series opener, recording three strikeouts and no hits on 20 pitches.

But ultimately, this game cannot be remembered properly without the fateful final inning thrown by Trevor Megill.

5. Trevor Megill survives a potential meltdown and fakeout double play as Brewers claim World Series Game 1 victory.

For a moment, closer Trevor Megill had Brewers fans biting their fingernails off and sitting at the edge of their seats. His 20-pitch ninth inning featured two hits, a run, and a fake-out on a game-winning play. The first batter Megill faced was Diaz, who grounded out with a 1-1 count. Aranda once again singled, followed by Simpson, who also hit a single after two foul balls. Caminero then walked with a 4-2 count, loading the bases at the last moment.

A groundout RBI by Liam Hicks put the Rays' second run on the board, but the real controversy was in the double-play fakeout that ensued. When Brice Turang chased down the groundout, Cooper Pratt tagged up to second and pulled off what seemed to be a game-winning double play, until replay review showed that his foot came off the bag at second, giving the Rays one more shot to score.

Yet, with three fastballs and two signature knuckle curveballs, Megill baited Jonny DeLuca into swinging and finally secured the Brewers' first World Series victory since Game 5 of the 1982 Fall Classic.

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