Brewers look ahead to Cubs after falling short of sweep vs. Red Sox

BOSTON -- After Sunday’s 2-1 loss to the Red Sox denied the Brewers not only a series sweep at Fenway Park but also a chance to make their longest road trip of the season a winning one, Milwaukee will try to reclaim momentum in a hurry.

Here come the Cubs.

Even a Brewers rookie like left-hander Robert Gasser understands that fans may be dialed into this matchup a little more than the typical series in late May.

“I was thinking back to college, and it’s just really cool that I get to pitch in a rivalry game for the first time in a minute,” said Gasser, set to start Monday’s opener. “We’ve been on a long road trip, but I’ve been staring at it for five days now. I’m ready for the Cubs.”

It’s not the first meeting between the NL Central-leading Brewers and second-place Cubs this year -- Chicago took two of three at windy Wrigley Field earlier this month -- but it is the first matchup of the teams in Milwaukee. It’s the hometown of Craig Counsell, who managed the Brewers for parts of nine seasons and five postseason appearances before making a surprise move to Chicago last fall.

“I think that will be more from the fan perspective. We have to go out there and win the game,” said the longest-tenured Brewers player, Christian Yelich. “It’s players vs. players. The managers put players in position to win the game, but at the end of the day we’re the ones that are deciding the outcome on the field.

“That’s how we looked at it [when the teams played] in Chicago. I understand the storylines from a fan perspective and everything that happened. For us, it’s trying to win another series against a division rival. It’s going to be a big four days for us.”

The Brewers had a chance to ride some serious mojo into those games had they been able to finish a sweep in Boston, but they went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left runners at second or third in four different innings. One of those chances came in a 1-1 game in the seventh when Blake Perkins’ leadoff bunt single and Brice Turang’s sacrifice put the go-ahead runner at second with one out and Milwaukee’s best two hitters coming up.

But William Contreras and Yelich couldn’t cash in, each bouncing out to first base. After Yelich’s out ended the inning, Red Sox reliever Chris Martin appeared to share some choice words with Brewers first base coach Quintin Berry, setting off an argument that cleared the benches and bullpens.

“The guys play with a lot of energy,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “I think their pitcher showed some emotion and our people thought it was directed at them. I don’t really know if it was or it wasn’t.

“I’m not going to speculate about what the kid [Martin] was doing, but if you’re staring at somebody, it could be interpreted that you’re saying it to them. If you’re going to yell at us and say something and make it personal, we’re going to stand up for ourselves. I’m glad it didn’t lead to anything more than that.”

The Red Sox pounced an inning later against Brewers reliever Elvis Peguero, who hadn’t been scored upon in any of his previous five appearances and 13 of the previous 15. That changed quickly when nine-hole hitter Ceddanne Rafaela led off with a double and scored easily on Jarren Duran’s base hit.

It was enough to win on a day the Brewers were held to a lone run on Contreras’ RBI single in the fifth inning. Sox starter Tanner Houck lowered his ERA for the season to 1.90 with six innings of one-run ball before Martin and the Boston bullpen closed it out.

With that, the Brewers’ only three-city road trip in 2024 was finished.

“Today, we competed. We were right there until the end. That’s what I worry about,” Murphy said. “I hope we just continue playing like we’re playing. We’re playing with that edge and we’re playing with freedom. That’s the big thing, just to play with freedom. In order to play with freedom, you have to be super prepared and undaunted, if you will.”

The next challenge comes Monday afternoon.

“I’m sure there will be some cheers, there will be some boos,” Yelich said. “I’m sure ‘Couns’ is expecting all that. After the lineups and managers are announced, then it will be off to playing.”