After a thrilling Game 1, the Milwaukee Brewers are three wins away from their first World Series championship. The Brewers outlasted the Tampa Bay Rays at American Family Field on Friday (MIL 3, TB 2), and they did so after replay overturned the would-be game-ending double play. Tampa was given a second life, but did not capitalize. Jonny DeLuca struck out to end the game.

"My thought was it looked like a close play," Rays manager Kevin Cash said about the overturned double play. "(Video coordinator) Nick Rogers did a good job of recognizing that it was really close. In the moment, I don't think he thought too strongly about it, but at that point why not challenge it?"

The Brewers lead the series 1-0 and, historically, teams that win Game 1 of a best-of-seven have gone on to win the series 65% of the time. That said, the Los Angeles Dodgers got blown out in Game 1 of last year's World Series, then came back to beat the Toronto Blue Jays in seven. The Brewers have a leg up, but this series is far, far from being over.

Here now are three key questions heading into Saturday night's Game 2.

1. Can Rasmussen be the stopper in Game 2?

Rather than start ace Drew Rasmussen in Game 1, the Rays opted to push him back to Game 2 to give him extra rest because we're so deep into the calendar and his workload is so great. Truth be told though, extra rest is normal rest for Rasmussen, who made only seven of his 30 regular-season starts on normal four days' rest during the regular season, and none in the postseason.

"We prioritized Drew getting an extra day," Cash explained Thursday. "He's had a pretty thick workload here. We've relied on him heavily. We know when he takes the ball, we're trying to get the full pitch allotment out of him."

Rasmussen had a terrific regular season and has been sensational in the postseason, allowing only three runs and 16 baserunners in 21 innings spanning three starts. He's struck out 23. The Rays need him to continue that in Game 2. Tampa is already down 1-0 in the series. It's hard to see them winning four of the next six games without Rasmussen being in top form.

Rays manager Kevin Cash declined to use his top relievers (Bryan Baker, Cam Booser, Tyler Wells) to chase a deficit in Game 1. All three should be ready to go in Game 2, potentially for 4-5 outs each. Cash can get aggressive with his bullpen but he would prefer not to. Tampa's best path to a win is Rasmussen being the stopper and pitching deep into Game 2.

2. Will either team get offense from the bottom of the lineup?

Game 1 was the first time since 2000 that no home runs were hit in Game 1 of the World Series. That isn't too surprising, seeing how the Brewers finished 29th in homers during the regular season, and the Rays finished 22nd. The two offenses are similar in that they have heavy hitters at the top of the order, and some glovemen at the bottom who must bunt and whatnot to contribute.

In Game 1, the two top of the orders did their part. Jackson Chourio, Jake Bauers, Christian Yelich, and William Contreras led the way for the Brewers. Yandy Díaz, Jonathan Aranda, Chandler Simpson, and Junior Caminero did the same for the Rays. The 1-2-3-4 hitters were great for both teams. Everyone else? Not so much:

No. 5 hitter Liam Hicks drove in both runs for the Rays, both with RBI groundouts. RBI groundouts are good, those are runs on the board, but Hicks had the tying run at second base both times. RBI groundouts are a last resort more than a means to an end. At some point, the Rays -- both teams, really -- need someone outside the 1-2-3-4 hitters to drive the ball and get a big hit.

Milwaukee is better set up to get bottom-of-the-order production. They ranked second in batting average (.248) and third in on-base percentage (.318) from the 7-8-9 lineup spots during the regular season. The Rays were 20th (.228) and 14th (.303), respectively. The stars must lead the way, but the team that gets the most production from the bottom of the order will win the World Series.

3. Can the Rays get their running game going?

The Rays went 2 for 4 stealing bases in Game 1, and that's a bit misleading. The two steals came as part of a double steal in the ninth inning, when Brewers closer Trevor Megill was focused on the batter. The two caught stealings came earlier in the game and the first was dumb, frankly. Victor Mesa Jr. got thrown out trying to steal third to end the fifth inning with Díaz at the plate. 

The other caught stealing I can forgive. Aranda was running in a 3-2 count with the low-strikeout Simpson at the plate, but Simpson struck out, and Aranda was thrown out. Simpson struck out twice in Game 1 after striking out once previously this postseason. That was just a tough break. Mesa getting thrown out at third with Díaz at the plate though? Dumb baseball from a smart team.

"Ultimately, Victor is really competing," Cash said after Game 1. "Trying to do something to make something happen, put a little pressure on the defense, and it didn't work in our favor."

The running game was one of our World Series X-factors and the Brewers figure to have a major advantage because Hicks is a poor thrower and Contreras has a great arm. Case in point: Contreras went 2 for 2 throwing out potential basestealers when he actually threw the ball in Game 1. He had two hits in the game and also shut down two rallies with his arm.

The Brewers stole just one base in Game 1 and that runner didn't even come around to score. They know they can run on Hicks (and backup catcher Nick Fortes), though. They can steal when they need it. Can the Rays? Contreras is a game-changer behind the plate, and without those extra 90 feet, pushing runs across could be a real challenge for the AL champs.

"He's a very talented player on both sides of the ball," Cash said about Contreras. "We knew that coming in. Not surprised by anything that he did, but that's not going to change our aggressive approach, certainly on the bases."