Red Sox-Brewers Beef Explained: Why Willson Contreras May Incite Brawl

There could easily be punches thrown this week

Apr 6, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox catcher Willson Contreras (40) hits a home run during the ninth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images | Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images

Willson Contreras really, really does not like the Milwaukee Brewers.

Monday's loss dropped the Boston Red Sox to 2-8, the worst record in Major League Baseball, and Contreras was Boston's most impactful hitter by the box score. But far more importantly, he stirred up controversy by getting hit by a pitch from Brandon Woodruff, then slid into second base with his spikes up on ex-Red Sox David Hamilton.

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

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War of words between Contreras, Christian Yelich

Apr 6, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Milwaukee Brewers right fielder Jake Bauers (9) and Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Christian Yelich (22) celebrate during the eighth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images | Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images

To say both teams were incensed about the incident would be putting things mildly. After the game, Contreras showed all his time in the National League Central, which included being hit by a heck of a lot of pitches from Woodruff and the entire Brewers pitching staff, had reached a boiling point.

"They (the Brewers) always say, ‘I’m not trying to hit you.’ That gets old. So, next time they hit me again, I’m going to take one of them out. That’s a message," Contreras warned, via Tim Healey of The Boston Globe.

As we'll detail in a moment, the Brewers feel as though they've been around this block once or twice with Contreras, who spent his entire career with the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals before signing with the Red Sox this year. That led to Christian Yelich taking a shot back.

“We’ve seen that skit for the last 10 years. It’s nothing new," said Yelich, per Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

History of beef with Brewers

Aug 10, 2021; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras (40) reacts after getting hit by a pitch against the Milwaukee Brewers during the third inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Jon Durr-Imagn Images | Jon Durr-Imagn Images

Contreras, whose younger brother is the Brewers' All-Star catcher, gets hit by a lot of pitches to begin with. But he's never been hit anywhere close to as frequently as he has by the Brewers -- 24 pitches, to be exact, compared to 14 by the teams with the second-most (Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds),

Plus, Woodruff has plunked Contreras seven times, more than any other pitcher.

In 2021, Contreras was hit by Woodruff early in a game, had a Cubs reliever retailate against Woodruff himself, then homered in the eighth inning to take the lead against reliever Brent Suter and ran around the bases repeatedly shushing the Milwaukee crowd.

That came a week after Contreras made the benches clear by reacting strongly to a hit-by-pitch from Brewers reliever Brad Boxberger. In short, this bad blood runs deep.

What's next?

Well, we all heard Contreras, did we not? If a Brewers pitcher throws a fastball anywhere within three inches of the first baseman's body in the next two games, there's a good chance the benches could clear, and that punches might be thrown in the direction of whichever pitcher comes in Contreras' kitchen,