After an ugly start to the 2026 season, the Boston Red Sox collected their third and fourth wins of the season against the Milwaukee Brewers. They got the best of Jacob Misiorowski after a dominant outing on April 7, but they're lucky they were spared from facing Milwaukee's second-best pitcher in the early goings.
Kyle Harrison has posted an incredible start to his first season with the Brewers. Boston clearly didn't see this coming, as Harrison was the centerpiece of Milwaukee's return in the six-player trade that brought Caleb Durbin to the Sox.
Harrison started for the Brewers on April 5, the day before their visit to his former club. He's allowed three runs on seven hits over 10.1 innings across his first two starts this season. His 14 strikeouts are the star of the show, however.
Over the offseason, Harrison added a kick-changeup to his arsenal to compliment the fastball he leans on so heavily — he's thrown his four-seamer over 57% of the time in his first two starts. According to Cyrt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, the Red Sox tried and failed to add the kick-change to Harrison's arsenal last season, but he arrived to spring training having mastered it, a surprise to his new coaches (subscription required).
Red Sox lucky to dodge Kyle Harrison in Brewers' rotation, for the sake of their record and their ego
Harrison's newfound dominance hit the Red Sox particularly hard in the early games of the season because Durbin hadn't found his footing in their lineup yet. He's still slashing just .111/.179/.139, but he has a hit or an RBI in five of his last six games.
A successful outing for Harrison at Fenway Park may have bruised Boston's ego. Harrison was the prize of the Red Sox's return in the Rafael Devers trade, for which they have very little to show anymore. Harrison is thriving with the Brewers and outfield prospect James Tibbs III has been raking in the Los Angeles Dodgers' farm system. At least Jordan Hicks is still Jordan Hicksing for the Chicago White Sox, to the tune of a 9.00 ERA with four strikeouts and six walks over five appearances.
While the Red Sox dodged Harrison in the Brewers' rotation, they still had to face a former teammate in their April 8 getaway game. Longtime Boston pitching prospect Shane Drohan was also part of the Durbin trade and he made his major league debut at Fenway Park on a chilly afternoon. Drohan lasted just 2.2 innings and walked four batters, a much better outcome for Boston than facing Harrison.