Brandon Woodruff Shuts Down Red Sox-Willson Contreras Fireworks

It was another tough night for the Boston Red Sox on Monday.

Boston kicked off a three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers sporting a 2-7 record and needing something to go its way. Boston actually looked good for a chunk of Monday's tilt with the Brewers, but then everything fell apart. In the eighth inning, the Red Sox were tied with the Brewers with five runs each, but a base hit to left field and a bad throw from Roman Anthony changed the game.

Teams continue to run on Roman Anthonypic.twitter.com/Ej10oGQ9qx
— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) April 7, 2026

The Red Sox would go on to lose, 8-6, against the Brewers. It was actually the second straight game that Boston lost by a score of 8-6.

That's not all, though. There were some fireworks earlier in the contest.

Willson Contreras vs. the Brewers

Apr 3, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras (40) hits a home run against the San Diego Padres during the sixth inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Willson Contreras, who has been hit by a pitch against the Milwaukee Brewers 24 times throughout his career, was hit by a pitch from Brandon Woodruff in the third inning of the contest.

Willson Contreras didn't like being hit by Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff

He then took a hard slide into second base the next at-bat pic.twitter.com/VwX1uxQ33i
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) April 7, 2026

After the game on Monday night, Contreras unsurprisingly had some words for the Brewers and even made it clear that the next time he is hit by Milwaukee, he is going to "take one of them out."

Brandon Woodruff, who threw the pitch that hit Contreras, responded.

"We’ve been through this ... it seems like every year," Woodruff said, as transcribed by Tim Healey of The Boston Globe. "He’s trying to play a game and he’s trying to get his side fired up. Once I knew what was going on, I wasn’t going to let it affect me on the mound."

Clearly, these two sides do not like one another. Contreras has been hit numerous times by the Brewers and Woodruff and his teammate, Christian Yelich, brushed it off. This isn't a topic that is going to go away throughout the rest of the series. The Red Sox and Brewers have two more games against one another on Tuesday night and Wednesday afternoon. Every time Contreras steps up to bat, it's going to be interesting to see if Milwaukee throws close to him.

He has already said that if another Brewers hurler hits him with a pitch that he's going to be coming back at them. On Monday, he was grazed by a pitch and it led to some jawing with Woodruff and even Brewers manager Pat Murphy. If Contreras gets hit again, expect these comments to be nothing compared to real fireworks.