The Boston Red Sox will try to steady a slow start when they host the Milwaukee Brewers at Fenway Park on Monday night. The matchup brings together a Boston club that has lost seven of nine and a Milwaukee team that has opened with seven wins in nine games.
Milwaukee enters with momentum after beating the Royals, 8-5, and has already won each of its first three series. Boston, by contrast, dropped two of three to the Padres over the weekend and now faces a Brewers lineup that has produced early offense and has not yet faced a National League opponent.
Why this game matters
The Brewers have looked balanced at the plate and aggressive in big spots, while the Red Sox have still searched for consistency on both sides of the ball. Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy called the offense “relentless,” pointing to a group that keeps pressure on pitchers even with two outs.
That approach showed again on Sunday, when Gary Sanchez hit his third homer of the season in the first inning and Christian Yelich added an RBI triple. Milwaukee never trailed in that game, a sign that the club has been quick to seize control early in contests.
Starting pitchers
Brandon Woodruff gets the ball for Milwaukee, and he has shown enough sharpness early in the season to give the Brewers confidence. In his last outing, he allowed two runs on four hits with six strikeouts over five innings in a win against the Rays.
Brayan Bello will start for Boston, and his numbers to begin the year have been rougher. He allowed six runs, five earned, in his season debut against the Astros, and Boston will need a stronger outing to keep Milwaukee’s bats from building early leverage.
Projected lineups
- Brewers: Turang 2B, Contreras C, Yelich DH, Mitchell CF, Bauers 1B, Rengifo 3B, Frelick RF, Hamilton SS, Perkins LF
- Red Sox: Anthony LF, Yoshida DH, Contreras 1B, Abreu RF, Story SS, Mayer 2B, Durbin 3B, Narváez C, Rafaela CF
The Brewers’ order again features Yelich in a central run-producing role, with William Contreras and rookie production around him helping Milwaukee stay deep from top to bottom. Boston will look to Wilyer Abreu and Masataka Yoshida, who each had three hits in Sunday’s loss, to carry an offense that needs more traffic on the bases.
Key matchup notes
| Category | Brewers | Red Sox |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 7-2 | 2-7 |
| Starter | Brandon Woodruff | Brayan Bello |
| Woodruff vs. opponent | 1 career start, win | Bello vs. Brewers: 0-1, 3.95 ERA |
| Recent form | Won 8-5 vs. Royals | Lost series to Padres |
Sal Frelick is also a player to watch. The Massachusetts native and Lexington product was scratched from Sunday’s lineup because of tightness on his left side, but Murphy said he could have played and should be better by Monday.
On the Boston side, Bello’s history against Milwaukee suggests the Brewers have seen enough of him to make adjustments. The Red Sox will need him to limit damage early, especially against a lineup that has already shown an ability to score with two outs and turn short innings into crooked numbers.
The game is set for 6:45 p.m. and will air on NESN and WEEI-FM 93.7, with Boston looking to avoid another difficult home result while Milwaukee tries to extend one of the league’s best early-season starts.
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