The game was effectively decided before the first inning was over. Boston scored four times in the bottom of the first, and that early burst proved more than enough as the Red Sox defeated the Nationals 6-3 on Monday at Fenway Park.
Willson Contreras was the catalyst. His three-run homer to left center — 421 feet — erased a 1-0 Washington lead and put Boston ahead for good. Contreras finished 1-for-2 with 3 RBI, carrying a .286 average with 18 home runs and 53 RBI on the season. Caleb Durbin added a solo shot to left in the same inning, his seventh of the year, to push the lead to 4-1. Boston extended the margin with a sacrifice fly from Wilyer Abreu in the second and another from Narváez in the third, building a 6-1 cushion through three innings.
Washington had drawn first blood. James Wood opened the scoring with a 441-foot homer to right in the top of the first, his 21st of the season. The Nationals made a late push in the sixth, when C. J. Abrams doubled to right, scoring Keibert Ruiz and Andres Chaparro to cut the deficit to 6-3. That was as close as Washington would get.
Ranger Suarez earned his fourth win, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits over 6.0 innings, striking out 8 against 1 walk on 95 pitches, with a 2.94 ERA. Miles Mikolas absorbed the loss — his seventh — surrendering all 6 runs on 9 hits over 7.0 innings, falling to 2-7 with a 5.23 ERA. Garrett Whitlock recorded his first save of the season, striking out 2 in a clean ninth inning.
Boston has won four straight and improved to 36-46. Washington, which had won two in a row entering the game, fell to 43-42. Whitlock is 7 appearances away from 200 games played in his career.