(Photo credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images)

If the Boston Red Sox are going to break out of their season-opening funk this week, the turnaround will need to start against the Milwaukee Brewers, who are tied for the best record in baseball.

The teams will open their lone interleague series of the season on Monday night, playing the first of three games in Boston.

Milwaukee, which won an MLB-best 97 games a season ago, has won its first three series and sits at 7-2 after securing an 8-5 victory Sunday over the Kansas City Royals. The Brewers have yet to play a National League team.

Boston is in opposite shape at 2-7, having fallen 8-6 to the San Diego Padres on Sunday in the rubber game of its home-opening series.

On Sunday, the Brewers never trailed. Gary Sanchez hit his team-leading third home run -- a two-out, two-run shot in the first inning -- to help them jump to a 3-0 lead, while Christian Yelich had a pair of hits, including an RBI triple in the first.

'It's relentless,' Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy said of his offense. 'These guys know that two outs means you're two-thirds done with the inning, and that's it.'

The Brewers' Sunday lineup did not include Massachusetts native Sal Frelick, who exited the second game of a Saturday doubleheader with tightness on his left side.

'He could have played,' Murphy said. 'Think he'll be better (Monday).'

Brandon Woodruff (1-0, 3.60 ERA) will start the series opener after allowing two runs on four hits and striking out six in five innings on Tuesday in a 6-2 win against the Tampa Bay Rays.

'My one and only goal this year is being healthy and being available,' said Woodruff, who returned from a two-year rehab following shoulder surgery last July and finished 7-2 with a 3.20 ERA in 12 starts.

Woodruff has made just one career start against the Red Sox, striking out nine and allowing one run in 6 1/3 innings on July 29, 2022. He got the win in the 4-1 Milwaukee victory.

As for the Red Sox, they lost a 4-0 lead they built after three innings against the Padres on Sunday and have lost back-to-back games and seven of eight since their Opening Day victory on the road against the Cincinnati Reds.

'There were some signs that were positive (and) others that stayed the same, but you've got to stay the course. You cannot overreact over this series,' Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. 'You have to play better.'

Wilyer Abreu -- who has a .429 batting average and is tied with Christian Walker of the Houston Astros to lead MLB with eight extra-base hits -- and Masataka Yoshida each had three hits on Sunday. But it was an all-too-familiar refrain for the Red Sox, who are off to their worst start since 2019.

'We didn't expect to lose this many games,' outfielder Roman Anthony said. 'When you take the field as a competitor and as a team, you expect to win every day. ... We need to find a way to just bring more energy and be better. This is unacceptable.'

After posting a career-best 3.35 ERA in 2025, Brayan Bello (0-1, 9.64 ERA) will take the mound for Boston on Monday after struggling in his season debut last Tuesday against the Astros. He was touched for six runs (five earned) on eight hits and three two-out walks in 4 2/3 innings and took the loss in the 9-2 game.

Bello allowed that many runs in only one of his 29 appearances (28 starts) last season -- a 10-4 loss to the Atlanta Braves on May 18 in which he allowed seven runs, all earned.

'It didn't go the way I expected,' he said after he first start of 2026. 'If I let them put the ball in play or any other outcome, things might've been different.'

The 26-year-old is 0-1 with a 3.95 ERA in three career appearances (two starts) against Milwaukee.

--Field Level Media