Ok. The Red Sox are now 2-7 on the season after three series. They were meh against the Reds. Then bad against the Astros. And actually played the Padres pretty hard, more or less, but came away 1-2.
The absence of Garrett Whitlock — who, to be clear, 100% should be allowed the time off for paternity leave and isn’t at fault — really hurt them on Saturday and Sunday, especially with Oviedo looking not great in his first appearance and then hitting the IL. They only need to go, uh, 87-68 the rest of the year
to finish with the same record as 2025.
The Brewers are having the opposite start to the season: they’re rolling. Milwaukee will come to Boston sitting on a 6-1 record.
Remember Brandon Woodruff? He was pretty big for Milwaukee through 2022. Then he had injury-shortened seasons in 2023 and 2025 surrounding an entirely lost 2024 campaign on the shelf. But he’s back now. In his first start of 2026 he tossed five innings of two-run ball against the Tampa Bay Rays. He’s going up against Brayan Bello, who’s looking to bounce back from his start against the Astros. The goal this spring was to give him more swing-and-miss in his game and that part of his last outing was a success. Hopefully there is more to come.
Tuesday is Jacob Misiorowski, aka The Miz vs. Garrett Crochet. The pitching phenom against The Pig. Misiorowski, a 24-year-old righty, enters the day with a 2.45 ERA / 3.91 FIP. To watch for: 18 strikeouts in his first 11 innings against the Chicago White Sox and Tampa Bay Rays. Glass half full or half empty, this could be a rough night for the Sox hitters. Crochet will need to be fully in control and bring at least his B game. In their meeting last year, Crochet struck out 11 Brewers in 6.2 innings as the Red Sox lost 3-2. Maybe bring the A game to be safe.
Wednesday is a getaway day before an off-day to travel and, maybe, reset. Chad Patrick will take the ball for the Brewers. In two starts he has an ERA of 0.96 (FIP 4.36) after allowing just one runs over two starts totaling 9.1 innings. Again, it’s the White Sox and Royals, so not the greatest accomplishments, but also not nothing. That’s three more righties for the Boston lefty hitters to feast on. Platoon advantage doesn’t guarantee results but it’s nice to have all the same. Sonny Gray will make his third start in a Boston uniform and we’ll all hope it goes more like his second. Two runs in six innings when your team can give you five is good enough for a win.
William Contreras, brother of Willson, will be in town. He’s off to a .259/.375/.481 start with a homer.
Christian Yelich is hitting .353/.389/.529 with a homer and is as hot at the plate as he could be.
Old friend David Hamilton has stolen four bases for the Brewers.
The good news? After the Brewers series the Sox go on the road for six games against the rebuilding Cardinals (4-4 ahead of Sunday Night Baseball) and Twins (3-6). And then another potentially brutal stretch facing the Tigers and Yankees. But good teams win against good teams so we’ll see what happens.
Probable Pitching Matchups
Monday, April 6: Brandon Woodruff (3.60 ERA / 5.98 FIP) vs. Brayan Bello (9.64 ERA / 7.04 FIP)
Tuesday, April 7: Jacob Misiorowski (2.45 ERA / 3.91 FIP) vs. Garrett Crochet (3.27 ERA / 2.73 FIP)
Wednesday, April 8: Chad Patrick (0.96 ERA / 4.36 FIP) vs. Sonny Gray (4.50 ERA / 3.18 FIP)
When/Where to Watch
Monday, April 6 at 6:45 PM ET on NESN
Tuesday, April 7: 6:45 PM ET on NESN
Wednesday, April 8: 1:35 PM ET on NESN
