Joey Ortiz's 2-run double caps big 3rd, Brewers beat Boston 6-3 after holding Sox hitless through 6

BOSTON (AP) — Joey Ortiz hit a two-run double to cap a five-run third inning and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Boston Red Sox 6-3 on Saturday.

Brice Turang added a solo homer for the Brewers, who beat the Red Sox for the second straight day in their three-game series.

Wearing their City Connect uniforms of bright yellow jerseys with powder blue lettering and hats, the Red Sox went hitless through six innings. Ceddanne Rafaela drove in two runs for Boston.

Colin Rea (4-2) gave up two runs in 5 2/3 innings of relief after Jared Koenig got the first four outs.

Rea allowed Rafael Devers’ leadoff double off the center-field wall in the seventh that ended the no-hit bid.

“I was watching it from the training room and didn't want to move,” Koenig said. “I was hoping Colin was going to keep it going, but that's a tough thing to do.”

The last no-hitter by the Brewers was on September 11, 2021, when pitchers Corbin Burnes and Josh Hader combined to beat the Cleveland Indians 3–0.

Trevor Megill struck out David Hamilton with two runners on for his eighth save.

All five of the Milwaukee's runs in the third came with two outs on four straight hits off Boston starter Nick Pivetta (2-3). Jake Bauers, Gary Sánchez and Sal Frelick — who grew up in nearby Lexington, Massachusetts and played at Boston College — each had an RBI single before Ortiz’s hit into the left-center gap.

“Two outs nobody on, six straight hitters came to the plate — impressive,” Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy said. “Kind of relentless. Every pitch is important, two outs nobody on. ... Just keep pecking away like that, like a woodpecker, never stop.”

Turang homered over Boston’s bullpen in the eighth.

Pivetta was tagged for five runs and seven hits in 3 1/3 innings, but he did record his 1,000th career strikeout when he got William Contreras swinging on a curveball in the third.

“I got behind guys and walked guys,” Pivetta said. “I wasn't able to get the job done.”

Koenig started for the second consecutive game. The last Brewers’ pitcher to do that was Zack Greinke, who did it three straight in 2012. He started on July 7, was ejected in the first inning, started the next day and then the first game after the All-Star break.

A replay review showed that a fan down the left-field line reached out and interfered with a ball puts in play by Willy Adames in the second inning. Murphy challenged that it was touched and Adames went to second base.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Red Sox: RHP Garrett Whitlock said his season is over and he’s expected to have his right ulnar collateral ligament repaired with an internal brace. The 27-year-old had Tommy John surgery when he was in the Yankees farm system in 2019. “The rehab from this is a ton easier than Tommy John. It’s one of those things where you keep moving forward,” he said before the game. … 1B Triston Casas (injured list since April 21, rib strain) started taking grounders recently. Manager Alex Cora said he doesn’t know when he can start swinging a bat again. “We want to make sure he goes through the right steps and sticks to the process,” Cora said. “Obviously, the swinging part of it, you go through the right steps.” … Boston LF Tyler O’Neill, who made a leaping grab of Blake Perkins’ drive before banging into the Green Monster in the second, left the game with right knee soreness. “He didn't feel great throughout, so we deceided to take him out,” Cora said.

BREWERS’ TRADE

The Brewers got RHP Garrett Stallings from Baltimore for RHPs Thyago Vieira and Aneuris Rodriguez.

Stallings, 26, was a fifth-round pick by the Los Angeles Angels in the 2019 amateur draft. He went 0-1 with a 5.67 ERA in 11 games, four starts, for Triple-A Norfolk this season.

UP NEXT

Brewers RHP Tobias Myers (1-2, 5.00 ERA) is scheduled to face Red Sox RHP Tanner Houck (4-5, 1.94) in the series finale Sunday.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

Milwaukee Brewers' Sal Frelick (10) and Gary Sánchez (99) celebrate with Blake Perkins after scoring on a two-run double by Joey Ortiz during the third inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Milwaukee Brewers' Brice Turang, right, scores on his solo home run in front of Boston Red Sox catcher Connor Wong, left, during the eighth inning of a baseball game, Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Boston Red Sox's Wilyer Abreu celebrates with David Hamilton (70) after scoring on a single by Ceddanne Rafaela against the Milwaukee Brewers during the seventh inning of a baseball game Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Milwaukee Brewers' Willy Adames (27) and Christian Yelich, right, celebrate after defeating the Boston Red Sox in a baseball game, Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Boston Red Sox's David Hamilton, right, reacts in front of Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras, left, after striking out swinging to end a baseball game Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Boston Red Sox's Rafael Devers scores in front of Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras on a double by Wilyer Abreu during the seventh inning of a baseball game Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Boston Red Sox left fielder Jarren Duran makes the catch on the fly out by Milwaukee Brewers' Brice Turang during the second inning of a baseball game, Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Nick Pivetta leaves the mound after being relieved by manager Alex Cora (13) during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Milwaukee Brewers' Sal Frelick (10) celebrates his RBI single with first base coach Quintin Berry during the third inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Milwaukee Brewers' Joey Ortiz runs on his two-run double in front of Boston Red Sox catcher Connor Wong during the third inning of a baseball game, Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union countries on Monday gave final approval to a major and long-awaited plan to better protect nature in the 27-nation bloc, a divisive issue after months of protests by farmers who argued that EU environmental and climate laws were driving them toward bankruptcy.

After surviving a razor-thin vote by lawmakers last summer, the so-called Nature Restoration Plan faced opposition from several member states, leaving the bill deadlocked for months.

The law, which aims at restoring ecosystems, species and habitats in the EU, was finally adopted at a meeting of environment ministers at Luxembourg after rallying the required support from a qualified majority representing 15 of the 27 member states and 65% of the EU population. Austria's decision to finally support the plan helped to break the stalemate.

“This is the final step before this law can enter into force,” said the Belgian presidency of the EU Council.

The Nature Restoration plan is a part of the EU’s European Green Deal that seeks to establish the world’s most ambitious climate and biodiversity targets, and make the bloc the global point of reference on all climate issues.

Under the plan, member states will have to meet restoration targets for specific habitats and species, to cover at least 20% of the region’s land and sea areas by 2030.

“The result of hard work has paid off,” said Belgian environment minister Alain Maron. “There can be no pause in protecting our environment. The EU Council makes the choice to restore nature in the EU, protecting its biodiversity and our living environment.”

Austria’s environment minister, Leonore Gewessler, voted for the plan after months of domestic political debate. The move by Gewessler, a member of the Green party, infuriated the senior partner in the coalition government — Chancellor Karl Nehammer’s conservative Austrian People’s Party — ahead of a national election set for Sept. 29.

“My conscience tells me unmistakably (that) when the healthy and happy life of future generations is at stake, courageous decisions are needed,” Gewessler wrote on social network X.

Ahead of the vote, the chancellery said Nehammer informed the Belgian EU presidency that a vote in favor of the plan by Gewessler would be unlawful, the Austria Press Agency reported. Nehammer’s office said after the decision that Austria will file a suit at the European Court of Justice to nullify the vote.

In the buildup to the EU elections that saw a shift to the right earlier this month, European farmers complained about the many environmental laws governing the way they work, arguing that the rules were harming their livelihoods and strangling them with red tape.

Environmental organizations and a coalition of big companies insisted last year the legislation was crucial to tackle both climate change and nature loss. But the plan lost some of its progressive edge during negotiations because of fierce opposition from the EU Parliament's main political group EPP, which along with other conservatives and the far right has insisted the plans would undermine food security, fuel inflation and hurt farmers.

Greenpeace said a failure by EU governments to approve the law would have been embarrassing ahead of the next UN biodiversity meeting in Colombia in October.

“Despite the weakening of the law, this deal offers a ray of hope for Europe’s nature, future generations and the livelihoods of rural communities,” said Greenpeace biodiversity campaigner Špela Bandelj Ruiz. "Healthy ecosystems offer protection against extreme weather, water shortages, and pollution.”

Associated Press reporter Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.

FILE - A man walks on a path during a protest against large-scale government logging in the Bialowieza Forest, Poland, Aug. 13, 2017. European Union countries on Monday, June 17, 2024, gave final approval to a major and long-awaited plan to better protect nature in the 27-nation bloc. After surviving a razor-thin vote by lawmakers last summer, the so-called Nature Restoration Plan faced opposition from several member states for months amid relentless farmers’ protests that contributed to leave the bill in a deadlock. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski, file)

FILE - A water meter stands in a dry wetland in Donana natural park, southwest Spain, on Oct. 19, 2022. European Union countries on Monday, June 17, 2024, gave final approval to a major and long-awaited plan to better protect nature in the 27-nation bloc. After surviving a razor-thin vote by lawmakers last summer, the so-called Nature Restoration Plan faced opposition from several member states for months amid relentless farmers’ protests that contributed to leave the bill in a deadlock. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, File)