Ranger Suarez, Willson Contreras lead Red Sox to fifth straight win

The Red Sox are on their hottest stretch of the season.

Fresh off a stunning four-game sweep of the Yankees, Boston welcomed the Washington Nationals to Fenway Park on Monday night and picked up right where it left off.

The Red Sox erupted for four runs in the first inning, highlighted by a three-run homer from Willson Contreras and a solo shot from Caleb Durbin, then rode another strong performance from their starting rotation to a 6-3 victory.

With the win, Boston extended its season-best winning streak to five games while continuing the dominant run from its starting pitchers that has fueled the club’s recent turnaround.

Ranger Suarez turned in another quality outing, giving the Red Sox six strong innings.

Washington struck first when James Wood launched Suarez’s third pitch of the game 441 feet into the right-field seats for a leadoff home run, giving the Nationals a quick 1-0 lead.

Boston answered immediately with a four-run bottom of the first.

After the Red Sox loaded the bases, Willson Contreras unloaded on a 94.5 mph fastball from Miles Mikolas, launching a towering three-run homer over the Green Monster seats to put Boston in front for good.

As Contreras rounded first base, he repeatedly slapped his helmet with both hands and yelled, “Venezuela!” toward the Red Sox dugout. By the time he returned to the bench, the emotional first baseman had broken down in tears. 

The moment lasted several minutes as teammates and coaches embraced him, including fellow Venezuelan Wilyer Abreu, in an emotional scene just days after the devastating earthquakes that rocked their home country.

Contreras’ three-run blast gave him his 16th multi-RBI game of the season. It was also his fifth first-inning home run, the most by a Red Sox player this year.

Durbin followed with a solo homer of his own, his seventh of the season, stretching Boston’s lead to 4-1.

The Red Sox continued to tack on runs with sacrifice flies from Abreu in the second inning and Carlos Narváez in the third, building a comfortable cushion behind Suarez.

Contreras was ejected in the fourth inning after striking out on a checked-swing appeal. As he walked back toward the dugout, he repeatedly tapped the top of his helmet, mimicking the signal players use to request an Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) challenge.

First-base umpire Nic Lentz interpreted the gesture as showing him up and immediately ejected Contreras, tapping his own helmet to indicate the reason for the dismissal.

The ejection sparked a lengthy discussion between Lentz and interim manager Chad Tracy. Moments later, Contreras emerged from the dugout after realizing he had been thrown out and briefly exchanged words with the umpiring crew before returning to the clubhouse. 

Andruw Monasterio replaced Contreras at first base for the remainder of the game.

Mikolas settled in after Boston’s four-run first inning, retiring the