The Boston Red Sox lose another series opener, as they fall 8-6 to the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night inside Fenway Park. Aaron Ashby picked up the win out of the pen, as Garrett Whitlock got handed the loss.
Red Sox-Brewers Game Summary
Brayan Bello narrowly avoided disaster in the first inning, getting out of a jam with runners on second and third. The Red Sox answered back with a first-inning run via a Trevor Story bloop RBI single.
Tempers Flaring
Brandon Woodruff hit Willson Contreras with a pitch which loaded the bases in the third inning. Contreras took exception, seeing as it was the sixth time he’s been plunked by Woodruff in his career.
The next batter, Wilyer Abreu, hit a groundball to second baseman Brice Turang. Trying to turn a double play, former Red Sox infielder David Hamilton got a spike in his leg courtesy of Contreras. Roman Anthony scored to make it 2-0. Story hit a sacrifice fly ball to center field to score Masataka Yoshida and make it 3-0.
Offensive Prowess Undone
Bello once again got himself in a jam. He got one out via a sacrifice bunt from Hamilton before getting pulled after allowing a run. Danny Coulombe entered the game looking to lessen the damage. But when it rained, it poured. Infield hits from Christian Yelich and Garrett Mitchell tied the game at 3-3. Coulombe then walked Jake Bauers on four pitches with the bases loaded to take the lead. Only then did Coulombe coax a double-play from Luis Rengifo after a 10-pitch at-bat.
In the bottom of the fourth, Ceddanne Rafaela reached on a David Hamilton fielding error to score Caleb Durbin and tie the game at 4-4. A ground-rule double from Contreras gave the Red Sox back the lead at 5-4.
Turang hit into a fielder’s choice to tie the game at 5-5 in the top of the fifth.
No more scoring occurred until the eighth inning, as Garrett Whitlock found himself in trouble. Mitchell hit a single to left field, scoring Turang, as a throwing error from Anthony helped Yelich score to make it 7-5 Brewers.
Sal Frelick came through with an insurance run with an RBI single to make it 8-5. Angel Zerpa came in for the ninth inning. The Red Sox tried their best to set up a two-out rally. Contreras hit his second home run of the year, followed by a single from Wilyer Abreu. However, Story grounded out to Turang at second to end the game.
What Went Right for the Red Sox
Bats Picking Up
The bats are finally picking up for the Red Sox after a frustrating first couple of series. Even though they only went 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position, they are still managing to get runs across.
What Went Wrong for the Red Sox
Starting Pitching Struggles
Bello went only 3 1/3 innings, giving up four runs on five hits and four walks. The problem is the same with every arm in the Red Sox rotation, which is struggling with their pitch counts and getting behind in the count.
Bullpen Underperforming
Coulombe and Whitlock are both expected to be key performers for this Red Sox bullpen in 2026. They were anything but in this contest, however. The Red Sox walked eight Brewer batters throughout the game, and five of them scored.
Silent Last Five Innings
For as good as their first four innings were, they were putrid during the second half of the game. The Red Sox had two baserunners in the last five innings, both in the sixth inning. During that span, they went down 1-2-3 in four separate innings.
Looking Ahead
The Red Sox will look for the equalizer in the second game of the series on Tuesday at 6:45 p.m. ET. Garrett Crochet will make his third start, as Jacob Misiorowski takes the bump for the Brewers.
More Boston Red Sox Articles
More Milwaukee Brewers Articles
More MLB Articles
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
- Categories
-
Boston Red Sox
Milwaukee Brewers
