MLB has announced punishments for the brawl between the Washington Nationals and Boston Red Sox
MLB has officially announced suspensions following the brawl that broke out on Tuesday night between the Washington Nationals and Boston Red Sox that led to two pitchers disciplined.
Right handed pitcher Cade Cavalli has been suspended seven games while Miles Mikolas has received a five game suspension. The Red Sox were also disciplined after first baseman Willson Contreras drew a seven game ban while outfielder Nate Eaton received a three game suspension. Each player who was disciplined was also fined an undisclosed amount, while it was not immediately known whether any of the four mentioned players would appeal. If they do not, all suspensions begin on Friday night, meaning Mikolas will miss his scheduled start against the Pittsburgh Pirates this upcoming Sunday, July 5. Cavalli would also miss his scheduled start for Monday, July 6 against the Houston Astros if suspensions go into effect immediately.
The scuffle began after Cavalli struck out Contreras on a full count in the bottom of the fourth inning, leading even fans to hear Cavalli shout, 'sit down boy.' Contreras then slowly approached the mound before being separated, then charging the mound to throw his helmet, which hit Washington first baseman Andres Chaparro in the head. Mikolas was seen fighting Eaton before Mikolas tossed the Red Sox outfielder to the ground, effectively ending the fight before tipping his cap to the Boston faithful as he exited the game.
While he first noted in his postgame press conference an incident as the two teams came off the field following the first inning, Cavalli changed his tune the next day after the use of 'boy' drew criticism, leading the Nationals' pitcher to reflect on his actions the next day.
"It hurt my heart knowing that if there's a 13 year old black kid in DC that sees that, that looked up to me, thinks that he perceived it in a way that wasn't intended in the way that it came out, that he's not looking up to me anymore. That hurts my heart," Cavalli said postgame.
President of baseball operations Paul Toboni and manager Blake Butera echoed similar sentiments the day after the scuffle to ease concerns about possible racial undertone in Cavalli's remarks while looking ahead to the rest of the series.
"There's a history behind that word and that's just something that like as a competitor...you don't understand it and then it gets perceived in a way that was not my intention. You learn from that and it'll never happen again," Cavalli said.
The Nationals are on an off day on Thursday before hosting the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night for the first of nine games in nine days to close the first half of the 2026 regular season.
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