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BOSTON — Willson Contreras has found himself at the center of a handful of kerfuffles as a member of the Red Sox this season. On Tuesday, tensions boiled over in the fourth inning against the Nationals.
With Boston leading 1-0, Contreras struck out looking against Washington right-hander Cade Cavalli, who froze him on a sweeper in the zone. Cavalli then appeared to yell something in Contreras’ direction, and the first baseman heard it. At that point, while walking back to the dugout, Contreras turned toward the mound, apparently to ask Cavalli if he was talking to him.
MORE: Chad Tracy: Red Sox-Nationals brawl caused by ‘Sit down, boy’ comment toward Willson Contreras
Contreras and Cavalli kept jawing as catcher Keibert Ruiz tried to calm Contreras down. Interim third base coach Chad Epperson came over to defuse the situation as the dugouts cleared. Then, chaos ensued.
Contreras broke free from Ruiz and Epperson and ran toward the scrum on the field, where Jarren Duran was in the middle of some arguing with Nationals players. Contreras, lunging in Cavalli’s direction, then tried to spike-throw his helmet toward the pitcher but instead appeared to strike first baseman Andrés Chaparro, who was tangled up with Caleb Durbin. From there, the pushing and shoving escalated.
You can watch video of the brawl here.
As Red Sox players and coaches, including Epperson, first base coach Pablo Cabrera and pitching strategist Devin Rose tried to hold Contreras back as Nats righty Miles Mikolas (Contreras’ former St. Louis teammate) charged in his direction. Washington bench coach Michael Johns was right in the middle of things as Wilyer Abreu and other uniformed Red Sox descended on the scrum to get Contreras away from Washington.
The umpiring crew issued ejections to three players — Contreras, Mikolas and Red Sox outfielder Nate Eaton, who wasn’t in the game — as well as interim manager Chad Tracy, who argued with umpires after the sides separated. After a long delay, Contreras went back into the dugout and the crew was left sorting things out.
MORE: What Red Sox’ Willson Contreras said after second ejection in two games; ‘I snapped’
Contreras had an emotional and eventful game Monday as the Red Sox won the series opener over Washington. He hit a three-run homer off Mikolas in the first inning, then was seen crying in the dugout as he was overcome with emotion thinking about the deadly earthquake that claimed more than 1,700 lives in his native Venezuela. In the second inning, Contreras was ejected by first base umpire Nic Lantz for mockingly tapping his helmet (to signal a faux ABS challenge) after he was called out on a check swing.
The fiery Contreras has been in the middle of plenty of near-brawls so far this season, but Tuesday was the first in which things got overtly physical. In April, he vowed to “take someone out” if the Brewers ever hit him with a pitch again after Milwaukee hit him for a 24th time in his career. The next month, Contreras’ home run celebration against Tigers lefty Framber Valdez led to a benches-clearing incident one batter later when the Red Sox thought Valdez intentionally hit Trevor Story with a pitch.
On May 23, Contreras’ near-collision at home plate with Twins catcher (and Contreras’ friend) Victor Caratini caused a brief discussion between the teams as the benches emptied. And most recently, on Friday night, Contreras’ jawing at righty Will Warren caused the Yankees and Red Sox to have some not-so-pleasant discussions on the field.
Tuesday’s incident, though, was at a different level and will almost certainly result in a suspension for Contreras. According to the NESN broadcast, he’s the first-ever Red Sox player to be ejected in back-to-back games.
Andruw Monasterio replaced Contreras at first base after the fracas.
More Red Sox coverage
- What Red Sox’ Willson Contreras said after second ejection in two games; ‘I snapped’
- Red Sox make trade with A’s, shore up corner infield depth
- Red Sox’ Willson Contreras about to discover he can’t lead his team while serving suspension | Sean McAdam
- Red Sox cut bait with veteran reliever after poor outing; are more roster moves coming?
- Chad Tracy: Red Sox-Nationals brawl caused by ‘Sit down, boy’ comment toward Willson Contreras
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