Cade Cavalli allowed one hit and struck out a career-high 13 batters in seven innings as the visiting Washington Nationals defeated the Boston Red Sox 8-1 on Tuesday.
The only run Boston scored against Cavalli (5-4) was unearned. He didn’t issue a walk in his 100-pitch outing.
CJ Abrams hit his 18th home run of the season as Washington won for the third time in four games and leveled the three-game series at one victory apiece. James Wood finished 3-for-5 with two RBIs.
Boston managed just four hits as its five-game winning streak ended.
There were fireworks in the fourth after Cavalli struck out Willson Contreras looking for the second out of the inning. Cavalli said something following the at-bat that Contreras took exception to, and Contreras had to be restrained as both benches emptied.
Contreras, who threw his batting helmet toward Cavalli during the melee, was ejected. Boston outfielder Nate Eaton and Washington pitcher Miles Mikolas, neither of whom was playing in the game, and Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy were also tossed out.
Contreras hit a three-run homer against Mikolas during Boston’s 6-3 victory on Monday. He later was ejected from that game when he tapped his helmet as if he were asking for an ABS challenge after being called out on a check swing.
Boston left-hander Connelly Early left the Tuesday game with what the Red Sox called left elbow tightness after throwing 48 pitches in four scoreless innings. Greg Weissert (0-2) allowed two runs in 1 2/3 innings of relief.
Washington broke a 1-1 tie by scoring three runs in the seventh. Jose Tena singled off Weissert, who walked Nasim Nunez with one out. Justin Slaten took over on the mound, and Keibert Ruiz drove in the go-ahead run with an infield single.
Later in the inning, Luis Garcia Jr. hit a two-run double to center.
Abrams went deep leading off the eighth to make it 5-1. Ruiz added a two-run double later in the inning, and Ruiz scored when James Wood doubled, increasing the gap to 8-1.
The Red Sox took a 1-0 lead in the first. Anthony Seigler doubled, took third on a groundout and scored on a two-out throwing error by Washington third baseman Curtis Mead.
The Nationals tied the game in the fifth when Daylen Lile singled, Ruiz walked and Wood hit an RBI single to right.
