Willson Contreras Charged the Mound After Being Told to ‘Sit Down Boy.’ MLB Just Handed Down the Suspensions.

Four players are facing suspensions after a bench-clearing incident at Fenway Park that started with one very bad decision by Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli. Instead of just walking off the mound after striking out Willson Contreras in the fourth inning Tuesday night, Cavalli decided to add a little something extra. He yelled “sit down boy” — loud enough for everyone to hear, including Contreras.

Contreras did not take it well. He turned, realized the insult was directed at him, and charged the mound. He threw his helmet toward Cavalli, benches cleared, and things got messy fast.

By the time it was over, Contreras, Red Sox reliever Nate Eaton, Cardinals pitcher Miles Mikolas — who wasn’t even involved in the initial incident but apparently had his own issues — and Red Sox manager Chad Tracy were all ejected. But here’s the weird part: Cavalli stayed in the game. The guy who started the whole thing got to keep pitching. He went seven innings in Washington’s 8-1 win.

Now MLB has weighed in with suspensions. Cavalli and Contreras got seven games each. Mikolas got five. Eaton got three. All four suspensions start Friday. The Nationals host the Pirates. The Red Sox start a series with the Angels.

Suspensions and Appeals

The players can appeal, which might reduce the number of games. That’s standard procedure. But the optics here are rough for MLB. The guy who threw the insult got the same suspension as the guy who chased him. And Cavalli got to finish his start while Contreras sat in the clubhouse. That’s not going to sit well with a lot of people.

Contreras has a reputation for playing with an edge. He’s been involved in dustups before. But this one feels different because it started with a taunt, not a pitch up and in or a hard slide. Cavalli chose those words. And now both players will miss a week of games.

The league hasn’t commented beyond the suspension announcement. The Red Sox and Nationals both declined to elaborate. Mikolas’ involvement is still a little unclear — replays showed him and Eaton shoving each other in the scrum, but the trigger isn’t as obvious as Cavalli-Contreras.

One thing worth watching: the Nationals are in a tight spot with their rotation if Cavalli appeals and the timing gets messy. The Red Sox, meanwhile, lose their catcher for seven games in the middle of a playoff push. Contreras has been one of their most consistent hitters. That hurts.

So the suspensions are on the books. Appeals could change the numbers. But the image of a pitcher screaming at a hitter after a strikeout — and then that hitter losing his cool — that’s the part people are going to remember.