Willson Contreras gets seven-game suspension

Cavalli was expected to make two starts next week, with the first coming on Monday against the Astros. That no longer appears to be the case. Of course, Cavalli could appeal the suspension and have it reduced, but we’d imagine it will cover Monday’s game since the league cited Cavalli for “initiating” the incident when he shouted at Contreras and called him “Boy” after striking him out. Even without a two-start week, Cavalli looked so good in that Red Sox start that he should be added in more leagues as a potential second-half breakout candidate.

This is the third straight game against a left-hander that Duran has sat out. The 29-year-old is hitting .216/.284/.297 in 81 plate appearances against lefties this season with a 27.2 percent strikeout rate. Nate Eaton will start in left field and bat seventh while Romy Gonzalez will be the designated hitter and bat fifth.

Cavalli authored one of the most dominant outings of the season, retiring the final 19 batters he faced after Willson Contreras reached on a fielding error in the opening frame. A leadoff double from Anthony Seigler was the only hit he allowed. He was at the epicenter of a bench-clearing donnybrook a couple frames later that resulted in Contreras being ejected, while Cavalli avoided a similar fate despite appearing to spark the incident. The 27-year-old former top prospect generated an eye-popping 25 swinging strikes, including 15 on his four-seamer alone, and touched 99.6 mph in an otherworldly performance. He’ll face the Astros at home on Monday.

There’s a lot to unpack here. Contreras is likely to face a suspension after he threw his helmet at Nationals starter Cade Cavalli during a bench-clearing dustup at Fenway Park following a verbal altercation. He was 0-for-2 with a strikeout prior to the fourth-inning ejection. The 34-year-old was also tossed during Monday’s series opener.

Mikolas coughed up a three-run blast to Willson Contreras as part of a four-run opening frame and was tagged for six runs total across the first three innings. He managed to spare Washington’s bullpen by making it through seven frames frames, but the damage was already done. He’ll face the Pirates on Sunday to finish off a two-start week. He can be safely ignored in all fantasy leagues.

Contreras was ejected by first base umpire Nic Lentz for tapping his helmet while walking back to the dugout following a second-inning strikeout. He was apparently upset after Lentz wrung him up on a check swing to end the at-bat. He launched a three-run homer off Nationals starter Miles Mikolas in his first at-bat of the contest. It will go down as one of the more absurd ejections of the entire season to put it mildly. Contreras has been involved in a number of bizarre incidents during his Red Sox debut, but his on-field production has remained at elite levels, hitting .282/.376/.533 with 18 home runs and 53 RBI through 81 games.

Contreras more or less took over this game early with a run-scoring single in the first inning against Yankees’ starter Will Warren followed by a towering, 418 foot, 112 mph moon shot against him in the third. Then, next time out, he walked on a pitch that brushed against his front elbow. As usual, Contreras didn’t take too kindly to being pitched inside, flipped his bat on the walk, and began barking towards the visiting dugout. A brouhaha ensued with both benches clearing, which is all in a day’s work for Contreras. Apart from his usual antics, Contreras has been the Red Sox’s most reliable hitter this season with 17 home runs, a .281 batting average, and .901 OPS so far.

Cavalli struck out seven batters on the night while issuing only one base on balls. All of the damage done against him came in his final inning of work on a two-run blast by Brandon Marsh. Cavalli then exited with a 5-2 advantage and in line for a victory, but the Nationals’ bullpen couldn’t hang on for him. He got 15 whiffs on 97 pitches in the ballgame, registering a CSW of 31 percent. He’ll bring a 4.00 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and an 89/29 K/BB ratio (83 1/3 innings) into Tuesday’s matchup against the Red Sox in Boston.

It makes sense after Eaton went 3-for-4 with two doubles, two runs scored, and two RBI in a win on Tuesday. The Red Sox will use that to give Jarren Duran a day off and put Connor Wong at designated hitter. While Duran has 12 home runs and 11 steals in 72 games this season, he’s also slashing just .199/.258/.366 and has just a 67 wRC+.

The free-falling Red Sox are turning to Eaton in the leadoff spot after dropping Monday’s series opener at Coors Field in stunning fashion following a ninth-inning meltdown on several fronts. The versatile 29-year-old has gone 1-for-8 with a home run and a stolen base in five games since being called up from Triple-A Worcester earlier this month.