MILWAUKEE — Rowdy Tellez has no explanation for his uncanny level of success against the Boston Red Sox.
Tellez continued to torment the Red Sox on Saturday night, homering for the second straight game while helping the Milwaukee Brewers win 5-4.
Tellez, who faced Boston more frequently while playing for the Toronto Blue Jays from 2018-21, has 14 homers and 29 RBIs in 37 career games against the Red Sox.
“I don’t know,” Tellez said. “They’re just the unfortunate team, I guess. Somebody’s always got to have one team to do better against than the others, and I guess the Sox are mine.”
Tellez entered Saturday with a 1.183 career OPS against the Red Sox. He hasn’t hit more than eight homers against any other team.
His two-run shot off Garrett Whitlock in the third inning Saturday gave the Brewers an early 3-0 lead. The 412-foot blast over the center-field wall on a 3-2 changeup capped an eight-pitch plate appearance.
PHOTOS: Tellez homers against Red Sox again as Brewers win 5-4
“He was fighting off good pitches and smacked the one he got,” Whitlock said.
Yu Chang and Rafael Devers hit two-run homers for the Red Sox. Devers’ blast was his AL-leading eighth of the season.
Milwaukee’s Christian Yelich went 2 for 4 with two runs and an RBI.
The Brewers, who had fallen 5-3 to the Red Sox on Friday, still haven’t lost back-to-back games all season.
“It’s great because last year we went through quite a few losing streaks,” Brewers reliever Hoby Milner said. “It’s hard to come back from a losing streak and get on a heater. … We’re going to lose some games and we know that. It’s when you start losing multiple in a row that you start doubting yourselves. As long as we can avoid that, we should be in good shape.”
The Red Sox brought the tying run to scoring position in each of the last two innings, but couldn’t break through.
Justin Turner hit a one-out double off Peter Strzelecki in the eighth, but Milner struck out Jarren Duran and Devers to end the threat.
Masataka Yoshida reached on a one-out single in the ninth and advanced to second on Raimel Tapia’s grounder to the left side, but Devin Williams retired Reese McGuire on a fly to shallow left and earned his third save in as many opportunities.
Milwaukee’s Wade Miley (3-1) struck out three and allowed four hits, two runs and one walk in five innings to lower his ERA to 1.96. Whitlock (1-2) struck out one and gave up eight hits, five runs and one walk in four innings.
Miley benefited from some good defense behind him. After Chang’s two-out shot to left cut Milwaukee’s lead to 3-2 in the fifth, Brewers rookie center fielder Joey Wiemer made a leaping catch at the warning track to rob Alex Verdugo of an extra-base hit.
“He’s one of the better outfielders in baseball, as young as he is,” Miley said. “He’s fun to watch.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Red Sox: McGuire got hit in the top of the right hand by a foul tip while working behind the plate in the ninth inning. X-rays were negative.
“As a catcher, you’re kind of used to just getting baseballs all over,” McGuire said. “I got some on the forearm the other night. So it’s just one of those things you kind of shake off at first, but that one kind of stung. And then when I looked down, it was kind of starting to swell up a little bit. It’s just the life of the catcher, right there.”
Brewers: RHP Adrian Houser is expected to throw 75-80 pitches Sunday with Triple-A Nashville and could end up starting when he returns from a right groin injury that has kept him from making his 2023 debut.
Houser started 76 games from 2019-22, but had been expected to open this season in the bullpen. That plan might change now that Brandon Woodruff is out indefinitely with an injured right shoulder.
“With Woody’s injury, we decided that stretching Adrian out is the best thing to do,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said before the game.
UP NEXT
RHP Brayan Bello (0-1, 16.88) starts for the Red Sox and RHP Corbin Burnes (2-1, 4.76) pitches for the Brewers in the rubber game of this series Sunday.
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