Pat Murphy Gives Huge Props to William Contreras After Brewers’ World Series Game 1 Win

William Contreras had a great showing offensively and defensively as the Milwaukee Brewers won 3-2 in Game 1 of the World Series.

Pat Murphy Gives Huge Props to William Contreras After Brewers’ World Series Game 1 Win

William Contreras and Pat Murphy (Image via X/@JustBB_Media/X/@Punchoutpitch)

The Milwaukee Brewers struck first in the 2026 World Series as they won Game 1 3-2 against the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday. Following the game, Brewers’ manager Pat Murphy had some huge props for catcher William Contreras.

Playing in the World Series for the first time since 1982, the Brewers opened the scoring in the first inning. Following a single from Jackson Chourio, a triple from their captain Christian Yelich put them on the board early on.

Contreras, who was batting with a .367 average in the postseason, hit a sharp line drive that deflected off the glove of shortstop Taylor Walls and went into right field for a base hit. This single allowed Yelich to score from third and put the Brewers up 2-0.

The Rays cut the deficit in half in the 4th inning. With Jonathan Aranada on first base, Junior Caminero hit a line drive to center field. Garrett Mitchell was unable to field it, resulting in a double for the Rays star.

Liam Hicks then grounded out for the second out. Aranada, however, scored from third base and made it a 2-1 game.

Contreras then showcased his elite skills as a catcher. He caught Victor Mesa Jr. stealing 3rd base to end the 5th inning.

In the 6th inning, the 28-year-old was at it again. This time he caught Aranda stealing 2nd base with another sharp throw. This play turned out to be a double play as Chandler Simpson struck out swinging against Abner Uribe.

A single from Chourio in the 7th inning extended his side’s lead to 3-1. He and his team thought they had won the game in the 9th inning through a double play and escaped a bases-loaded situation.

However, replays later showed that Cooper Pratt’s leg was a bit off the bag while he received the ball at 2nd base, and the game resumed with the Rays cashing in a run. In the end, the Brewers held on to win 3-2 and took a 1-0 series lead.

In the press conference after the game, Pat Murphy was full of praise for William Contreras. He lauded the catcher and claimed he was the “player of the game.”

Contreras was incredible. If anybody doesn’t notice the contributions of Contreras, he was the player of the game. We had a lot of good performances, a lot of good things … But Contreras was unbelievable.

Pat Murphy said regarding William Contreras via MLB Network

Contreras went 2-for-3 with 1 walk and raised his postseason batting average to .394. Beyond catching two runners while stealing, he also won 2 ABS challenges, making for an all-around performance in the World Series opener.

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William Contreras created MLB history with his all-around showing in World Series Game 1

William Contreras was one of the key contributors for the Milwaukee Brewers in their Game 1 win on Friday night. With his all-around performance, he created a piece of MLB history.

William Contreras
William Contreras (Image via X/@Punchoutpitch)

As per Sarah Langs of MLB.com, this was just the 4th time in the last 50 years that a catcher had multiple CS and multiple hits in a World Series game. Overall, it was the 12th such game in World Series history.

As for this century, he is the first one to do so.

As for the Rays, this marked another World Series in which they started with a loss. They lost the series opener in each of their previous two appearances in 2008 and 2020.

They, however, did bounce back both times in Game 2 and leveled the series at 1-1. With Drew Rasmussen on the mound, they will be hoping for a similar outcome on Saturday.

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