Boston Red Sox
“They always say, ‘I’m not trying to hit you.’ That gets old.”
Willson Contreras didn’t hold back with his criticism of the Brewers on Monday. Photo by Jaiden Tripi/Getty Images
April 7, 2026 | 7:17 AM
3 minutes to read
Willson Contreras might be in his first season with the Red Sox.
But the 33-year-old first baseman and longtime NL Central stalwart has a longstanding beef with one of his former divisional foes, the Milwaukee Brewers.
During his previous stops with both the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals, Contreras was often a magnet for baseballs while stepping into the batter’s box against Milwaukee.
Entering Monday’s matchup against the Brewers at Fenway Park, Contreras had been beaned by a baseball 23 times by a Milwaukee pitcher in the course of his career.
In the third inning, that count increased to 24.
Milwaukee starter Brandon Woodruff caught Contreras with an inside pitch that grazed his hand. It marked the sixth time that Woodruff had hit Contreras with a pitch.
Given that extended history, Contreras did little to mask his anger, barking at Woodruff as his brother — Brewers catcher William Contreras — escorted him down the first-base line and tried to calm him.
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
Speaking after Monday’s eventual 8-6 loss to Milwaukee, Contreras didn’t lower the temperature when asked about the latest beaning.
“It’s not just the hit-by-pitch. That’s the 24th time they’ve hit me in my career — 24th. That’s the sixth time [Woodruff] has hit me,” Contreras said in Boston’s clubhouse. “And they 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.”
“I took exception to it,” he added. “I knew my brother was behind me [walking to first base]. I was like, ‘OK, you hit me? See what happens next.’”
Willson Contreras on the tension between him & the #Brewers:
“It’s not just a hit by pitch. That’s the 24th time [the Brewers have] hit me in my career. That’s the 6th time [Woodruff] hit me… it’s not coincidence… they’re gonna hit me again, and we’ll see what happens.” 😳… pic.twitter.com/lf9bbLw3ue
— NESN (@NESN) April 7, 2026
Contreras made his frustrations clear on the very next play after making it over to first base.
After Wilyer Abreu grounded out to second, Contreras slid hard into second base — colliding with Milwaukee shortstop David Hamilton and tearing the opposing infielder’s pant leg with his cleats.
Hamilton was looked at by the Brewers’ training staff after the slide before staying in the game. Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy argued that Contreras should have been called out on interference — resulting in a double play — but no call was made.
“I wouldn’t say purposeful, because he stayed on the bag,” Contreras said of his slide against Hamilton. “That was a perfect, legal slide.”
Despite Contreras’ warning, the Brewers didn’t seem to be perturbed by Contreras’ postgame comments.
“We’ve seen that skit for the last 10 years. It’s nothing new,” Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich told Milwaukee reporters of Contreras’ comments. “Not surprising. You just keep it rolling. You’ve got a game to win and lock the boys in, rally the troops.”
“We’ve been through this … it seems like every year. He’s trying to play a game and he’s trying to get his side fired up,” Woodruff added. “Once I knew what was going on, I wasn’t going to let it affect me on the mound. I knew I had a job to do.”
Contreras was one of the few bright spots in what was otherwise a miserable night for the Red Sox, who fell to 2-8 on the season.
The veteran first baseman reached base five times — slugging a solo home run in the ninth while also posting a double, single, walk, and the consequential hit by pitch.
“Sometimes when I play angry, I play better,” Contreras said. “I don’t know why. But that’s who I am.
“It’s different with them, I won’t lie,” Contreras added of Milwaukee. “It’s different with them. I talked to [Andruw] Monasterio and [Ceddanne] Rafaela and I said, ‘This guy’s going to hit me today, for sure.’ And they did. And that’s what’s going to happen, maybe [Tuesday], maybe the next day. They’re going to hit me again and we’ll see what happens.”
The Red Sox and Brewers will resume play on Tuesday night at Fenway Park — with first pitch set for 6:45 p.m.
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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