BOSTON — In the 10th game of a miserable season thus far for the Boston Red Sox, boos rained down throughout Fenway Park and “sell the team” chants echoed loud enough to be heard on the team’s NESN broadcast.

The Red Sox offense battled back throughout a tense affair, one heightened by a Willson Contreras hit-by-pitch and his ominous words after the game. But in the end, the pitching and defense failed the club yet again in another loss, this time 8-6 to the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Red Sox now have an MLB-worst 2-8 record, matching their worst start through 10 games in franchise history.

“Right now, we deserve whatever they’re thinking,” manager Alex Cora said of the jeers from the stands. “We’re not playing good baseball, and we know it.”

Garrett Whitlock, having just returned from paternity leave, allowed two walks in the eighth inning of a tie game before allowing a single to left field. Roman Anthony grabbed the ball but made a wild throw up the third-base line, allowing the go-ahead run to score with an insurance run just behind.

“It was a terrible throw, again,” Anthony said. “We didn’t have a shot with that throw. Gotta be better. It was terrible.”

Though the miscue was the final dagger in a game that began on an optimistic note with an early 3-0 Red Sox lead, it was far from the only mistake in another sloppy game with more poor pitching.

“We have to pitch for us to get to .500,” Cora said. “To go to where we want to go, we have to pitch. That’s the bottom line. We walked eight, I believe. They had 18 at-bats with men in scoring position. It’s very hard to win that way. Very hard.”

Cora made lineup changes Monday, moving Trevor Story down to the five-hole and inserting Masataka Yoshida into the two-hole. The moves paid dividends. Story hit an RBI single in the first to give the club an early lead and added a sacrifice fly in the third. Yoshida reached base three times.

Story puts us on the board first! pic.twitter.com/0ppTdf9QCX

— Red Sox (@RedSox) April 6, 2026

But as the Red Sox have started to find some offense, the pitching continues to sink them. Red Sox starters now have a 5.40 ERA.

Brayan Bello continued the trend of awful starts. Though he navigated traffic in each of the first three innings unscathed, he managed just one out in the fourth, allowing an infield single, a walk, a bunt and a walk. A throwing error from Caleb Durbin allowed one run to score, knocking Bello out of the game. Danny Coulombe, pitching for the third straight day, entered with the bases loaded and allowed three more runs to score without the ball leaving the infield.

Down 4-3, the beleaguered Red Sox offense battled back, taking a 5-4 lead on Contreras’ ground-rule double in the fourth. Contreras, who was hit by a pitch in Boston’s two-run third and reached base five times, issued a warning to the Brewers after the game.

“Next time they hit me again, I’m going to take one of them out,” he said. “That’s the message.”

Milwaukee tied the score again in the fifth when former Red Sox player David Hamilton drew a walk and later scored on a groundout. Three innings later, Anthony’s throw sealed Boston’s fate.

“Two runs score; it’s awful,” Anthony said. “It’s awful to be a part of. I feel like it’s on me.”

Given the way things have gone for the Red Sox, even Contreras’ ninth-inning homer to pull the Red Sox within 8-6 did little to offer hope of a comeback.

Tuesday, the Red Sox will turn to their ace, Garrett Crochet, in an attempt to apply a tourniquet to their season. However, he’ll be facing Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski, and Contreras’ comments loom.

Cora offered confidence in his ace but didn’t soften the dire position in which the club finds itself.

“It’s always important to have (Crochet),” Cora said. “But I think it takes more than Garrett. It’s a total team effort. We’ve got to put a full game together — pitch, play good defense, run the bases well. We need one of those.”