Major League Baseball issued its punishments for Tuesday's on-field brawl between Willson Contreras and Cade Cavalli
While the Boston Red Sox were enjoying their off day in Los Angeles ahead of Friday night's series opener in Anaheim, Major League Baseball was handing down punishments for Tuesday night's on-field scuffle between the Red Sox and Washington Nationals. Here's what you need to know:
What happened?
In the first inning of Tuesday night's Washington win, Willson Contreras was stranded on third base. As he was walking back to the Boston dugout, the first baseman appeared to brush past Washington starter Cade Cavalli, a collision Contreras deemed incidental.
However, Cavalli didn't see the interaction as incidental, telling the Nationals' postgame show, "That's just something you don't do in baseball."
In the fourth inning, Contreras was caught looking by Cavalli. As the 34-year-old first baseman was heading back to the Boston dugout, the 27-year-old starter appeared to shout "sit down, boy" in his direction, causing Contreras to head towards the mound.
Chaos ensued as both dugouts and bullpens emptied, coming together along the first-base line. As tempers continued to flare, Contreras took off his helmet and Tomahawk threw it toward Cavalli, leading to increased pushing and shoving.
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the scuffle, Washington starter Miles Mikolas and Boston utility man Nate Eaton got into a wrestling match, resulting in Eaton being shoved to the ground.
By the time it was all said and done, Contreras, Eaton, and Mikolas were all ejected from the game. Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy was later ejected for arguing that Cavalli should have been thrown out for his role in inciting the incident.
Cavalli went on to dominate the Red Sox offense, holding them hitless for the final three innings of his outing en route to the 8-1 Nationals win.
What they said
In the aftermath of the scuffle, many questioned the phrasing of Cavalli's message to Contreras, as the use of the term "boy" has historical connotations of racism. Neither Tracy nor Contreras was willing to say that was the message's intent.
Cavalli met with the media, including Spencer Nusbaum and Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic, apologizing for his choice of words, saying "I’m extremely torn up about the way that things were perceived... Obviously, there was no ill intention behind that. It hurt my heart."
What were the punishments?
As a result of the fight, both Contreras and Cavalli were suspended seven games, while Mikolas received a five-game ban, and Eaton will miss the Red Sox's three-game set with the Angels after being handed a three-game suspension.
According to Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com, Contreras received a lengthy seven-game suspension, not only for his role in the fight, but also for violating the league's policy against using social media during a game.
After being ejected, Contreras exchanged social media jabs with fans who were taunting him for the fight, inviting one heckler to "meet [him] at Fenway."
As of now, none of the four suspended players have appealed the league's rulings.
The Red Sox are off on Thursday before kicking off a nine-game road trip leading into the All-Star Break, which gets underway on Friday night in Anaheim. Jake Bennett (2-3, 3.27 ERA) will get the start for the Red Sox, while the Angels have yet to name a starter. First pitch from Angel Stadium set for 9:38 p.m. ET.
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