Strong pitching leads to dominant start to propel Brewers to series win over Red Sox (2024)

BOSTON — Joey Ortiz hit a two-run double to cap a five-run third inning and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Boston Red Sox 6-3 on Saturday.

Brice Turang added a solo homer for the Brewers, who beat the Red Sox for the second straight day in their three-game series.

Wearing their City Connect uniforms of bright yellow jerseys with powder blue lettering and hats, the Red Sox went hitless through six innings. Ceddanne Rafaela drove in two runs for Boston.

Colin Rea (4-2) gave up two runs in 5 2/3 innings of relief after Jared Koenig got the first four outs.

Rea allowed Rafael Devers’ leadoff double off the center-field wall in the seventh that ended the no-hit bid.

“I was watching it from the training room and didn’t want to move,” Koenig said. “I was hoping Colin was going to keep it going, but that’s a tough thing to do.”

The last no-hitter by the Brewers was on Sept. 11, 2021, when pitchers Corbin Burnes and Josh Hader combined to beat the Cleveland Indians 3–0.

Trevor Megill struck out David Hamilton with two runners on for his eighth save.

All five of the Milwaukee’s runs in the third came with two outs on four straight hits off Boston starter Nick Pivetta (2-3). Jake Bauers, Gary Sánchez and Sal Frelick — who grew up in nearby Lexington, Massachusetts and played at Boston College — each had an RBI single before Ortiz’s hit into the left-center gap.

“Two outs nobody on, six straight hitters came to the plate — impressive,” Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy said. “Kind of relentless. Every pitch is important, two outs nobody on. ... Just keep pecking away like that, like a woodpecker, never stop.”

Turang homered over Boston’s bullpen in the eighth.

Pivetta was tagged for five runs and seven hits in 3 1/3 innings, but he did record his 1,000th career strikeout when he got William Contreras swinging on a curveball in the third.

“I got behind guys and walked guys,” Pivetta said. “I wasn’t able to get the job done.”

Koenig started for the second consecutive game. The last Brewers’ pitcher to do that was Zack Greinke, who did it three straight in 2012. He started on July 7, was ejected in the first inning, started the next day and then the first game after the All-Star break.

A replay review showed that a fan down the left-field line reached out and interfered with a ball puts in play by Willy Adames in the second inning. Murphy challenged that it was touched and Adames went to second base.

Tyler O’Neill exits with injury

Boston LF Tyler O’Neill, who made a leaping grab of Blake Perkins’ drive before banging into the Green Monster in the second, left the game with right knee soreness.

Brewers trade for right-handed pitcher

They got RHP Garrett Stallings from Baltimore for RHPs Thyago Vieira and Aneuris Rodriguez.

Stallings, 26, was a fifth-round pick by the Los Angeles Angels in the 2019 amateur draft. He went 0-1 with a 5.67 ERA in 11 games, four starts, for Triple-A Norfolk this season.

Up next

Brewers RHP Tobias Myers (1-2, 5.00 ERA) is slated to face Red Sox RHP Tanner Houck (4-5, 1.94) in the series finale Sunday afternoon.