Nationals’ Cade Cavalli dominates Red Sox in a fiery win that saw benches clear

BOSTON — After Cade Cavalli struck out Caleb Durbin in the fifth inning, he gave a little shoulder shimmy, a sign of the groove he was in.

​That level of celebration and swagger is not something Cavalli outwardly shows. But on Tuesday night, the Nationals needed his bravado. No pitch Cavalli threw mattered as much as his actions.

​With the Nationals trailing by a run in the fourth inning, Cavalli got Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras to strike out looking. As Contreras started walking back toward the dugout, he appeared to take umbrage with something Cavalli said to him after the punch-out, and it didn’t take much to set off Contreras.

​Contreras walked towards Cavalli and appeared to ask the right-hander, “Are you talking to me?” He appeared confused why Cavalli was trash-talking him. As the two converged, Contreras exploded, breaking free from multiple teammates who tried to contain him. His rage proved too powerful to be bottled up and both benches cleared.

During the brawl, Contreras tried to throw his helmet at Cavalli and instead hit first baseman Andrés Chaparro, and right-hander Miles Mikolas got into a tussle with a Boston player.

​After the ensuing chaos, Mikolas, Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy, Red Sox outfielder Nate Eaton and Contreras were all ejected.

​Cavalli was the center of the action at Fenway Park in Tuesday’s 8-1 Nationals win. He set a career high with 12 strikeouts and at one point retired 19 batters in a row. He became the first Nationals pitcher to throw seven innings and record double-digit strikeouts with one hit or fewer since Max Scherzer in 2018.

The Nationals tied the game in the fifth after James Wood’s two-out RBI single with runners on first and second. They took the lead in the seventh on Keibert Ruiz’s RBI single that Red Sox first baseman Andruw Monasterio couldn’t corral as the ball rolled into foul territory. First baseman Luis Garcia Jr.’s two-run double off the Green Monster extended the Nationals’ lead to three. Washington took complete control after scoring four runs in the eighth inning.

​But Tuesday was Cavalli’s night. He resembled what a No. 1 starter looks like in every way imaginable. On the mound, he was unhittable, pumping high-velocity fastballs at overmatched Red Sox hitters.

​No statistic can measure heart and tenacity. Cavalli was the best he’s been all season, but his real impact was in his defiance. He was unyielding in welcoming the confrontation. He didn’t back down from the smoke; he welcomed it. For as much as he has an aw-shucks demeanor, Cavalli showed that his competitive side can come out if pushed.

​After that brawl, Cavalli became enemy No. 1 at Fenway Park. When he took the mound for the fifth inning, Boston fans showered him with boos. No team wants to get involved in a benches-clearing brawl, but there’s value in a young team standing up for each other and showing they’re not pushovers.

With his confluence of talent, moxie and aggression, Cavalli was tough to face. But the way he set the tone in the fourth is what will stick with the Nationals past Tuesday night.