Milwaukee's catcher drove in a run, nabbed two runners stealing and won two replay challenges in a 3-2 win over Tampa Bay in Game 1.
William Contreras turned Friday night at American Family Field into a one-man showcase, and the Brewers walked away with a 3-2 win over the Rays in their first World Series game in 44 years.
Contreras opened the scoring with a first-inning RBI single, then spent the rest of the night making sure it held up. He threw out two Rays runners trying to steal and won two ABS challenges that flipped would-be balls into strikes, both of which ended in strikeouts for Milwaukee's pitchers. He even talked pitcher Aaron Ashby through a shaky moment in the field when a wild curveball sent Rays outfielder Victor Mesa Jr. ducking out of the way.
Manager Pat Murphy did not hold back afterward, calling Contreras the player of the game and suggesting he deserved MVP consideration not just for Friday but for Milwaukee's earlier series wins over the Dodgers and Padres too. Murphy joked that if co-MVPs were allowed, Contreras would have earned that honor more than once this October.
For a Brewers team trying to end a long World Series drought, having a catcher who can hit, throw and manage a pitching staff at this level in the sport's biggest moment is the kind of difference that games like this one turn on.