FanGraphs Weekly Mailbag: October 24, 2026

If last night’s Game 1 was any indication of the action to come, we’re in for a thrilling World Series. The Brewers jumped out to an early lead and barely held on to beat the Rays, 3-2.

The game had plenty of action. The first run scored on a Christian Yelich triple to center field. Jonny DeLuca laid out for it and nearly made a sensational catch. It was a fitting way for a World Series between these two teams to begin. There were two outs at third base, the first when Victor Mesa Jr. was caught stealing to end the top of the fifth, the second in the home half of the frame when Mesa cut down David Hamilton trying to stretch a double. William Contreras caught two Rays trying to steal. Junior Caminero scorched a 112.7-mph double in the fourth inning. Jacob Misiorowski casually and consistently threw 103-mph heaters, but only struck out three batters. The Rays loaded the bases against closer Trevor Megill in the ninth, and grounded into what was initially ruled a game-ending double play. Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash challenged, and the out call at second was overturned after replay revealed that shortstop Cooper Pratt’s foot came off the bag before he received the throw from second baseman Brice Turang. The call at first was confirmed for the second out, but a run scored. Still, the drama was all for naught; Megill took the mound again and struck out DeLuca to end it.

For more on the fun in Game 1, check out Michael Baumann’s story from Milwaukee. He’ll be providing in-person reporting throughout the World Series, so be sure to follow along. And if you haven’t yet joined us for a Members-Only Game Thread during this postseason, I can’t recommend them enough. Conversations we’ve had in those threads inspired two of the questions we’re answering in this week’s mailbag, on the most heroic World Series losers and the fewest number of starts a pitcher would need to win the Cy Young. We’ll get to those questions and more in a moment, but first, I’d like to remind you that this mailbag is exclusive to FanGraphs Members. If you aren’t yet a Member and would like to keep reading, you can sign up for a Membership here. It’s the best way to both experience the site and support our staff, and it comes with a bunch of other great benefits. Also, if you’d like to ask a question for an upcoming mailbag, send me an email at mailbag@fangraphs.com.