Brewers Face Key Game 1 Lineup Decision Against Rays' Nick Martinez

With Game 1 of the World Series approaching, it seemed like the obvious option for the Tampa Bay Rays would be to start ace Drew Rasmussen. That's not what th e Rays are doing, though. On Thursday, Tampa Bay announced that it will be rolling with Nick Martinez on the hill at American Family Field against the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Rays' rotation is led by a three-headed monster of Martinez, Rasmussen and Freddy Peralta. So, it's not as if the Brewers are catching a break with the Rays' decision. Milwaukee actually has seen Martinez this season. He started against the Brewers on June 30 and tossed six innings while giving up two runs and striking out three. With it now known that Martinez will take the hill, here's how Milwaukee should build out the lineup.

David Hamilton Should Play A Big Role In The World Series

1. Jackson Chourio, LF
2. Brice Turang, 2B
3. William Contreras, C
4. Jake Bauers, 1B
5. Christian Yelich, DH
6. Garrett Mitchell, CF
7. Cooper Pratt, SS
8. Sal Frelick, RF
9. David Hamilton, 3B

Martinez is a righty. Throughout the postseason so far, Milwaukee has utilized platoons throughout the lineup to maximize matchups against starting hurlers. With righties on the mound, we've seen a lot of David Hamilton in the playoffs so far. In games against righties, we've seen Hamilton take over third base and have success. We've seen Luis Lara in and out of the lineup in right field. But the lineup above is the exact lineup that the Brewers rolled out for Game 4 of the National League Championship Series against Tyler Glasnow and the Los Angeles Dodgers and it worked out.

Hamilton has been awesome in the playoffs so far. In four games played, the speedster has slashed .455/.500/.727 with a 1.227 OPS, one home run, two RBIs, three stolen bases and five runs scored. Frelick has played in five games in the playoffs so far and has slashed .200/.350/.200 with a .550 OPS, two RBIs, two stolen bases and three runs scored. On top of his play on the field, Frelick is a leader in the clubhouse for this club. Having him in the lineup for Game 1 would only be right.

We now know who the Rays will be sending to the hill. Tampa Bay is loaded with righties. We should see similar lineups to the one above throughout the series. Maximize matchups and then get guys ready to enter throughout the contests, including Lara, Ortiz and Andrew Vaughn.