An emotional night at Fenway Park saw Red Sox star Willson Contreras go from tears over the devastation in Venezuela to a controversial ejection Monday during the Red Sox’s 6-3 win over the Nationals.
Contreras, whose home country was rocked by earthquakes Wednesday, crushed a 421-foot, three-run homer off Nationals right-hander Miles Mikolas into the left-center field seats in the first inning.
As Contreras rounded the bases, he flipped his bat, slapped the top of his helmet with both hands and shouted, “Venezuela,” toward the Red Sox dugout.
In the dugout, Contreras broke down as teammates and coaches embraced him.
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After striking out on a check swing in the second inning, first-base umpire Nic Lentz ruled Contreras had gone around.
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Walking back to the dugout, Contreras silently tapped the top of his helmet, gesturing for an ABS challenge. But Lentz immediately ejected Contreras after the helmet tap.
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Interim manager Chad Tracy rushed out to argue the call but couldn’t get the decision overturned.
The decision was lambasted by the NESN broadcast, where Red Sox analyst Will Middlebrooks cursed the ejection during the telecast.
“Are you kidding me? How soft are we getting?” Middlebrooks said, calling the ejection an “absolute joke” and “embarrassing to the game.”
“The game needs the best players on the field. This is an entertainment business. It is for the fans. What are you doing? You are gonna throw a guy out of the game for that?”
Contreras said before Monday’s game: “It is really sad to live through this. It is really hard to separate or fake that we are good just because we have to work.”
“We are professionals. We have to show up and work. But it is really tough when you know what is going on in Venezuela … trying to perform, and at the same time trying to seek ways to help.”
Boston held on for the 6-3 victory behind Contreras’ three-run homer and a home run from Caleb Durbin, but his controversial ejection was the focus of the game.
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