Red Sox first baseman ejected after helmet throw in benches-clearing incident

Boston Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras was ejected for the second straight game Tuesday after throwing his helmet toward a Nationals pitcher during a heated exchange that cleared the benches. The incident occurred in the top of the fourth inning of an eventual 8-1 Nationals victory.

The pitcher struck out Contreras looking on a full-count pitch and then shouted at him as he returned to the dugout. Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said he heard the pitcher yell, "Sit down, boy" after the strikeout. When asked what he said, the pitcher told reporters, "I don't know.

events Contreras approached the pitcher on the mound after the strikeout. The two exchanged words and both benches emptied. "He struck me on a good pitch, I was walking back to the dugout, and then he did what did, and the rest was history," Contreras said.

" Boston catcher Carlos Narvaez tried to restrain Contreras, but Contreras broke free and threw his batting helmet toward the pitcher. The brief confrontation ended with ejections of Contreras, Tracy, Boston outfielder Nate Eaton and Nationals pitcher Miles Mikolas.

Background and reactions The pitcher said an earlier incident in the first inning, when Contreras brushed past him while exiting the field, contributed to the tension. "He's just been doing stuff," the pitcher said. "In the first inning, he just runs past me and brushes me.

" Tracy said he believed the pitcher should also have been ejected. "After everything that happened, the people that they chose that were going to leave the game, I just felt like the other pitcher should have been one of them too," Tracy said. Contreras, who is Venezuelan, said he plans to let MLB handle any questions about the language used.