On Friday night, the Milwaukee Brewers faced off against the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 1 of the World Series and came out on top, 3-2.

The biggest stories of the night were the performance by Jacob Misiorowski, the bullpen and timely hits from the offense. Milwaukee got its scoring early with a triple from Christian Yelich and then a base hit from William Contreras in the first inning. The Brewers had a 2-0 lead and maintained it the rest of the way. What should be talked about a lot more is Contreras' play behind the plate.

Heading into the series, we identified Contreras as the X-factor that could determine the winner of the 2026 World Series. Offensively, he has led the way for Milwaukee in the playoffs. But his defensive play is what is the game-changer for this series specifically. The Rays run when they get on base. There are few catchers in baseball better than Contreras at stopping the run. In 2026, he finished second in caught stealing with 25. Only Joe Mack of the Miami Marlins had more with 26.…