Boston Red Sox
“Of course, I’m helping the team to win, and it’s good. But every homer from now on is going to be for the Red Sox and Venezuela.”
Willson Contreras clubbed a three-run home run in the first inning of Monday’s win. (Photo by Jaiden Tripi/Getty Images)
June 30, 2026 | 7:51 AM
3 minutes to read
It was an eventful night at the ballpark for Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras on Monday.
Contreras packed a lot into less than two innings of work in an eventual 6-3 win over the Nationals at Fenway Park — clubbing a three-run homer in the first inning, shedding a few tears in Boston’s dugout, and then getting ejected in bizarre fashion in the following frame.
One of the emotional leaders on a Red Sox roster that’s now in the midst of a five-game winning streak, Contreras did not hold back after opening Monday’s game with a three-run shot over the Green Monster.
After celebrating in Boston’s dugout, cameras captured a visibly upset Contreras crying — with the veteran first baseman overcome with emotion amid the tragedy playing out in his native Venezuela following a pair of devastating earthquakes last week.
The death toll from both earthquakes has surpassed 1,700 as of Monday night, with Contreras raising funds and spreading the word about ways to assist recovery efforts in Venezuela over the last few weeks.
“It’s not easy to hide. It’s not easy just to show up and play with everything that’s going on in my country,” Contreras said after Monday’s win. “I wasn’t feeling good the whole day. I was kind of down, sad. And I hit a homer. Of course, I tried to help [spark] my dugout. But the first thing that I said was ‘Venezuela.’ That was the first thing that came out of my mouth.”
Willson Contreras, who has been busy contributing to relief efforts for his home country of Venezuela following the recent tragic earthquakes, was overcome with emotion tonight following his home run 🙏pic.twitter.com/WBjqE6EDNg
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) June 30, 2026
Contreras collected himself in Boston’s dugout for several minutes after his home run, receiving hugs and words of encouragement from fellow Venezuelan Wilyer Abreu and interim manager Chad Tracy before returning to the field for the second inning.
He didn’t last much longer in the game. In his next at-bat, Contreras was ruled out by first-base umpire Nic Lentz, who deemed that the first baseman didn’t check his swing on a strikeout.
As he made his way back to the dugout, Contreras tapped his helmet — the gesture used to signal for an ABS “challenge” while arguing over balls and strikes at the plate.
Swinging strikeouts, of course, cannot be challenged via ABS — with Lentz immediately ejecting Contreras for what he deemed was a very upfront mockery of his check-swing call.
“Disrespect … got him removed from the game,” Lentz told a pool reporter,’ per Tim Healey of The Boston Globe. “You can have a little bit of discretion. But in a situation like this, where it’s pretty immediate and showing disagreement or trying to gesture in that sort of manner, it would be immediate.”
“How soft are we getting? That’s embarrassing to the game.”
Red Sox broadcasters unload on the umpire after he ejects Willson Contreras for tapping his helmet pic.twitter.com/gvUoS9MvIU
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) June 30, 2026
“I didn’t argue, I didn’t yell, I didn’t do nothing wrong,” Contreras added of the ejection. “And he told me, ‘Yeah, but I have to throw you out.’ I was like, you didn’t have to, but you made that choice.”
Contreras — his heart still heavy after last week’s events — plans to keep channeling those emotions out onto the field in hopes of stretching Boston’s extended winning streak even further.
“I feel like I could be there helping people, and I can’t be there,” Contreras said. “The homer just represents … the only thing that I can do for Venezuela right now, physically, and that’s when my emotions showed.
“It’s for Venezuela. Of course, I’m helping the team to win, and it’s good. But every homer from now on is going to be for the Red Sox and Venezuela.”
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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