Red Sox's Willson Contreras Warns Brewers, 'Hit Me Again, I'm Going to Take One of Them Out'
Boston Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras says he's ready to take matters into his own hands after getting hit by Brandon Woodruff's pitch during Monday's 8-6 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.
Contreras has been hit by 131 pitches in his MLB career, including 24 from the Brewers and six from Woodruff. No other team has hit him more than 14 times, per ESPN.
"That's the 24th time that they hit me in my career, 24th," Contreras told reporters. "That's the sixth time [Woodruff] hit me, 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 what happens. That's a message."
Woodruff told reporters after the game that Contreras was "trying to play a game and he's trying to get his side fired up," per Tim Healey of the Boston Globe.
"Once I knew what was going on, I wasn't going to let it affect me on the mound," Woodruff said, per Healey.
Tempers flared Monday between the Brewers and Red Sox after Woodruff's fastball appeared to clip Contreras on the hand in the bottom of the third inning. The Brewers challenged the hit-by-pitch call, which stood after review.
Contreras then made contact with Brewers shortstop David Hamilton while sliding into second on a Wilyer Abreu RBI hit later in the frame.
"I wouldn't say purposeful, because he stayed in the bag, and that was a perfect, legal slide," Contreras said about the play.
Contreras went on to hit a home run in the bottom of the ninth, although that wasn't enough to help break the Red Sox out of their season-opening slump.
Monday's loss dropped Boston to 2-8, the worst record in MLB so far this season. The Red Sox will look for Garrett Crochet to help his team correct course when he makes his season debut on Tuesday night against Milwaukee.
The Brewers, who are tied for MLB's best record at 8-2, will place Jacob Misiorowski on the mound for Tuesday's rematch. Misiorowski most recently added to the Brewers' hit-by-pitch total against Contreras when he caught the Red Sox batter in the shoulder in September 2025.
