The Milwaukee Brewers saw their perfect start to the 2026 season come to an end with a 3-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday, and manager Pat Murphy provided his thoughts afterward.

Left-hander Kyle Harrison made his first start for the Brewers after joining the team via trade from the Boston Red Sox on Feb. 9. 

“Yeah, I thought he threw the ball well,” Murphy said about the 24-year-old southpaw. “And I think for his first outing with us, I mean, he threw the ball really well and responded really well, especially after the first two innings.”

Harrison’s night started off by giving up a leadoff solo home run to Yandy Diaz, but afterward, he was able to turn things around. By the time his evening was done, Harrison had pitched five innings and struck out eight batters while allowing four hits, one earned run and a walk.

However, Harrison’s effort did not matter in the grand scheme of things as the Brewers allowed Rays catcher Nick Fortes to hit an RBI double in the top of the ninth inning to give Tampa Bay a 3-2 lead that the Brewers could not respond to in the bottom of the ninth.

“I mean, you never assume anything,” Murphy said about the outcome of the game. “You know, but we had a couple of things go against us, and the credit goes to the Rays. I mean, Martinez is a veteran, he's pitched against us many times, he really had a good plan, stuck to it, did a good job.”

Nick Martinez, the 35-year-old right-hander who the Rays signed in February, went six innings while allowing the Brewers to get six hits and two earned runs. He also struck out three batters.

The Brewers had an opportunity to get back up to bat in the ninth inning in a tie-game scenario after Trevor Megill forced Junior Caminero into a groundout and then subsequently struck out Ben Williamson. However, he followed up the strikeout with a walk to Jonny DeLuca, which set up Fortes’ RBI double.

For Murphy, it was not a surprise that Fortes was able to jump on Megill’s pitch.

“No, I'm not surprised,” Murphy said. “Because we mound visited, and our message was, ‘He'll ambush, fastball up, that's what he's looking for,’ and the kid's a good little player, man.

"They went out and got him specifically, they had Jansen in their deal, and they went out and got this kid, because they really thought this guy was a difference maker," Murphy continued.

“And he proved to be tonight,” Murphy said. “But he's a good player. I've watched him in Miami for a while, and he's an ambusher, you know, he'll swing at that first pitch, and he did a great job putting it in play."

Murphy then proceeded to recount the plays late, like the two-out walk, which led to Milwaukee's loss

“It was a two-out walk that killed us,” he said. “Two plays that killed us late was a two-out walk, and then Contreras' line drive getting caught, and that's a double, and that's a run. 

“You know, we pitched well,” Murphy added. “Zerpa and Ashby were both, you know, Ashby gave up the one hit, but Zerpa was magnificent. Back-to-back for Megill; it's tougher this early in the season, you know, so it happens.”

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