BOSTON — There’s nothing wrong with a big-league ballplayer getting sick and tired of being drilled over and over and over by the same team. The problem is when said ballplayer stands before a gathering of media and announces he plans to “take one of them out” the next time it happens, as though we’re watching a “Goodfellas” sequel.

And so when Boston Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras spoke those very words Monday night, after being grazed by Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Brandon Woodruff, it instantly brought an added measure of intrigue to Tuesday’s meeting between the teams.

Unofficially, it was “Watch Willson Contreras Take Someone Out Night.” But Contreras was not hit in any of his four plate appearances in Boston’s 3-2 victory over the Brewers, and, as such, he felt no need to take anyone out. This was win-win for the Red Sox.

Keeping in mind the teams wrap up the series Wednesday afternoon at Fenway, the Red Sox should be extremely grateful to get out of Tuesday’s game without needing to pull Contreras off some fallen Brewer. Having already announced what he intended to do if he got hit again by the Brewers, Contreras had essentially delivered a case file to MLB. Given how poorly the Red Sox have come out of the gate — with Tuesday’s victory, they’re 3-8 — the last thing they need is for Contreras to be suspended.

But the Red Sox were able to celebrate a crisis-free victory. Ace lefty Garrett Crochet delivered 6 1/3 strong innings, allowing two runs and striking out seven. Right-handers Zack Kelly and Garrett Whitlock and lefty Aroldis Chapman kept the Brewers from tying the game. The embattled Trevor Story came through with a two-run double. As for the 33,193 fans who sat through this bone-chilling night, most of them went home happy. (Two Brewers fans, both in fan garb, came out of the evening unhappy with the outcome but with plans to live happily ever after, this after the gal said yes to the guy on bended knee, the whole thing getting the between-innings star treatment on the center-field flat screen.)

But the bonus for Sox fans is that there was no Willson Contreras news. The Brewers didn’t throw at him, so he didn’t throw any of ‘em down. Considering all the huffin’ and puffin’ he did after Monday’s game, this one could have been a disaster. Instead, this will be remembered as one of the most important victories of the young season if the Red Sox go on a run of graceful baseball.

Why was it so important?

“We need the big boy in the lineup,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said before Tuesday’s game. Yep. Contreras is hitting just .250 after going 1-for-2 Tuesday night, but he crushed a home run in his final at-bat Monday night and has driven in four runs. He’s expected to be an important presence in the Boston lineup this season.

But there’s more at play than keeping Contreras in the lineup. Just as important is keeping cool in the clubhouse. The Sox lost a ton of veteran leadership when Alex Bregman turned out to be one-and-done and signed with the Chicago Cubs, and you’d think a guy with Contreras’s resume — this is the 11th season of his big-league career, which began with being a member of the 2016 World Series champion Cubs — could fill at least some of that void. But revisiting old grudges against the Brewers from his days with the Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals accomplishes nothing.

Contreras has been hit 24 times by Brewers pitchers in his career. He leads active players in hit-by-pitches by one team. And he’s been hit six times by Woodruff. It’s worth noting that nobody had to meander to baseball-reference.com for this information. Contreras did everything but hand out stat sheets when he spoke to the media Monday night, saying, “It’s not just the hit-by-pitch, it’s the 24th pitch they’ve hit me in my career — 24th. That’s the sixth time (Woodruff) has 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 the message.”

It’s a lousy message. At a time when Red Sox fans have booed everyone from new third baseman Caleb Durbin to principal owner John Henry (A “Sell the team!” chant made the rounds at Fenway on Monday night), nobody wants to hear the new first baseman caterwauling about back-in-the-day stuff.

The closeness of the game would have made it a fool’s errand for the Brewers to throw at Contreras. Or maybe they could have poked the bear and watched the Red Sox fall apart. 

“He has a lot of games against them,” Cora said. “And he’s said it, how many times he’s been hit. People don’t like to get hit. We know that. We’ll leave it at that, but I really like the fact that he plays the way he wants to play, let’s put it that way. So far, so good.”

And Cora is so good at threading needles on these issues, as in communicating his wishes without insulting this or that player. As when he restated his wish that Contreras just let this all go, while also saying, “One thing about him, and we all know it, he plays with emotion. He plays with a chip on his shoulder … I know he was hot, but he was able to slow it down and had good at-bats. That’s what we’re trying to accomplish.”

Yeah, whatever. What’s important is that, with some help from the Brewers, Contreras came out of Tuesday night without needing to explain his actions to the MLB judiciary.

Sometimes, ballpark promotions work out just great. When the New York Yankees held a “George Costanza Nap Bobblehead” last summer, it was a huge hit. As for Fenway’s unofficial “Watch Willson Contreras Take Someone Out Night,” that one didn’t sizzle.

For their own peace of mind, the Red Sox should be very grateful for that.