BOSTON — Like many of his Venezuelan countrymen, Willson Contreras is living a waking nightmare and has been since last Wednesday when two earthquakes struck his homeland, killing thousands with tens of thousands more still unaccounted for.

During the day, he makes phone calls and texts family and friends. Sometimes, before games, he ventures outside Fenway Park and personally collects contributions for the relief efforts.

When game time comes around, the Red Sox first baseman seeks an escape, hopeful that the next two and a half hours can serve as a distraction. It is, after all, just a game.

But Contreras can’t separate the harsh reality from the competition. Sometimes they can’t help but intersect.

Contreras was the absolute focal point of the game between the Red Sox and Washington Nationals Monday, a game in which he participated for just two innings.

In the first, Contreras launched a three-run homer in what would turn out to be a 6-3 Sox victory, their fifth straight. After making contact, Contreras flung his bat skyward and looking at his home dugout, pounded his chest repeatedly, energizing his teammates.

“I wasn’t feeling good the whole day. I was really kind of down, sad,” said Contreras. “I hit the homer and the first thing that came out of my mouth (on the way to first base) was ‘Venezuela,’ ‘’

Minutes later, TV cameras caught Contreras sobbing in the dugout, alone with his thoughts about his home country and the tragedy that struck there.

Some people can grieve in private. In uniform, on the field, Contreras isn’t allowed that luxury.

“It’s not easy to hide,” conceded Contreras. “It’s not easy just to show up and play with everything that’s going on.”

Contreras was asked why the homer — majestic as it was, belted over everything in left — triggered that sort of emotional outburst upon his return to the dugout.

“Because I feel like I could be there helping people,” said Contreras, “and I can’t do that. The homer just represents something that I prayed to God to happen because that’s the only thing I can do for Venezuela right now, physically.

“So many people have died and it’s not easy to be dealing with.”

From the first week of the season, Contreras has been the Red Sox’ best hitter, which might sound to some as faint praise. But Contreras is legitimately enjoying the best season of his career. He leads his team in homers, RBI, slugging percentage and virtually every significant offensive category.

He’s also, even in better times, their most emotional. When he is brushed back, he’s quick to anger and challenge the opposition. During the recent series with the Yankees, he barked at Cam Schlittler and helped incite a war of words that featured dugouts and bullpens emptying.

Without apology, he later admitted that he was trying to spark his teammates and turn up the intensity of a rivalry gone flat.

Particularly in the absence of the injured Trevor Story, he has assumed the role of team leader — after all of three months tenure.

And now, he finds his emotions being split between his obligation to his country and his duty to his teammates. It is not an easy path to navigate. His loyalties are inexorably divided.

“Of course I like to help the team win and that’s good,” he said. “But I think every homer from now on is going to be for the Red Sox and Venezuela.”

Occasionally, the emotions boil over. When Contreras came to the plate in the second inning, he was rung up on a check-swing. First base umpire Nic Lentz denied the appeal, and when Contreras tapped his helmet repeatedly on his way to the dugout, Lentz saw it as a sign of disrespect and ejected Contreras from the game.

In the confusion, Contreras was unaware that he had been thrown out, only learning it from teammates in the dugout well after the fact.

By then, the Red Sox were comfortably ahead 5-1 and on their way to another victory. But for the final seven innings, Contreras, in the home clubhouse, found himself without the distraction of the game.

This spring, during the World Baseball Classic, Team Venezuela helped serve as a salve for a country dealing with political turmoil.

“Everybody was happy, even though the situation was bad,” he said.

Now, the stakes are far greater, literally an everyday matter of life and death. Contreras finds himself with one foot in his job, another back home.

“It’s my country,” he said. “I can’t turn around and look in a different direction just because I live here. That doesn’t make any sense to me. That’s why I’ve been outspoken from Day One because that’s the place that I was born and that’s the place I would like to go back to in the future.”

Contreras allowed that the games in which he plays can act as something of an escape for him, however briefly.

“But the thoughts about Venezuela are not going away,” he said. “At the same time, I have a responsibility to perform, to be there for my teammates and do the best I can help to the Red Sox win.”

The games continue. So, too, does real life. Willson Contreras tries to pay his respects to both.

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BOSTON — Red Sox rookie Payton Tolle appreciates teammate Ceddanne Rafaela recently calling him All-Star worthy.

“That’s really nice and I’m thankful for that,” Tolle said.

Beyond Rafaela’s support, there’s been buzz about Tolle’s All-Star candidacy on Boston sports radio and social media.

Tolle himself said he has thought about it.

“I have but it’s also I think that we have some incredible guys on this team that deserve it,” Tolle said. “So it’s cool. And just being in that conversation is amazing, but that’s kind of far out of mind for me.”

Tolle’s All-Star candidacy is remarkable considering he began this season at Triple-A Worcester. Boston promoted him April 23, when it needed a starter after placing Sonny Gray on the IL.

If all five starters in Boston’s Opening Day rotation had stayed healthy and performed well, Tolle might still be at Worcester.

“It is crazy. It’s a whirlwind,” Tolle said. “A little bit less of a whirlwind than it was last year.”

Last year was a whirlwind, for sure, with Tolle earning three different promotions from High-A Greenville to the majors in his first professional season.

“I think it’s just nice to be in the conversation,” he said. “I guess it doesn’t mean anything until it actually happens.”

So could it actually happen?

The 23-year-old lefty has a 2.78 ERA and 1.02 WHIP while holding opponents to a .203 batting average in 12 starts. His peripherals are also impressive. He ranks in the 90th percentile in expected ERA (2.91), the 86th percentile in chase percentage (34.3%) and 84th percentile in expected batting average (.209).

He’s had an absolutely electric fastball, throwing it 48.2% of the time and holding opponents to a .150 batting average and .233 slugging percentage against it. His fastball run value (nine) is in the 92nd percentile while his pitching run value (10) is in the 87th percentile.

• BETTING: The over/under is currently set at 9 total runs on BetMGM for Tuesday night’s clash between the Red Sox and the Nationals. Our comprehensive BetMGM Sportsbook review makes it easy to figure out how to register and navigate their platform.

However, there’s a case against his selection. Because he was in the minors for the first few weeks, he ranks 104th among major league pitchers in innings pitched with 71 ⅓ innings. There are 105 pitchers who have made more starts than him.

But there is precedent for star rookies being selected despite limited sample sizes.

Brewers starter Jacob Misiorowski made the 2025 NL All-Star team after just five major league starts.

Paul Skenes made the 2024 NL All-Star team just 11 starts into his major league career.

Like Skenes and Misiorowski before him, Tolle brings star power and personality that MLB can market to younger fans.

Tolle has one of the league’s best personalities both on and off the field.

Tolle’s playful approach on the mound carries over into his postgame interviews. For example, he leaped — comically — for a ball about 30 feet over his head during a start against the Orioles on June 4, then jokingly told reporters, "That was close. I gave it an attempt."

Tolle also had an unusual balk during that same game. After being called for the balk, instead of holding onto the ball, he threw it to the backstop. He turned a balk into one of the better quotes of the season. He told reporters, “There was no brain there. ... I didn’t have a balk all year so I thought this was the perfect time for it. Yeah, I was in disbelief at myself. It creates good TV I guess. I don’t know.”

While Tolle is deserving, a case could be made that two other Red Sox starters, Sonny Gray and Ranger Suarez, are even more deserving.

Tolle named several teammates he thinks are All-Star worthy.

“Chappie (Aroldis Chapman),” he said. “I think Sonny should be up there. I think Willson (Contreras), Rafa (Rafaela), Wilyer (Abreu) are having great years. Whit (Garrett Whitlock) is having a good year. Ranger is having a great year. Like, there’s so many guys, especially just in this pitching staff that are having great years, and you can’t just choose one.”

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BOSTON — Instant reactions from the Red Sox’ 6-3 win over the Washington Nationals on Monday at Fenway Park:

1. The Red Sox won their fifth straight game to improve to 37-46 overall and 17-25 at Fenway Park. The Nationals dropped to 43-43 overall and 26-18 on the road.

2.Willson Contreras got ejected in the second inning but not before putting Boston ahead in the first inning. He blasted his 18th home run, a three-run shot that gave Boston a 3-1 lead. He connected on a 94.5 mph fastball down the middle from Nationals starter Miles Mikolas and sent it 421 feet to left field. Contreras is on pace for 35 home runs.

3. Contreras was emotional in the dugout after hitting his first-inning home run. He said a couple days ago that he’s been thinking about his native Venezuela constantly after a devastating earthquake struck the country.

4. Contreras’ ejection came after he struck out in the second inning. First base umpire Nic Lentz threw him out.

Contreras tapped his helmet several times while walking back to the dugout after he struck out swinging. Lentz ruled that Contreras swung at an outside slider to end the at-bat while the first baseman thought he checked his swing. Lentz reacted to Contreras by tapping his own head and throwing him out of the game.

5. Ranger Suarez allowed three runs on six hits and one walk while striking out eight in six innings. He threw 58 of his 95 pitches for strikes (61%). He induced 12 swings and misses, including six with his curveball and four with his slider. He settled down after allowing a home run to James Wood to lead off the game.

6. Suarez’s quality start marked Boston’s 12th consecutive quality starts, the longest such streak by the club since 1988.

7. Caleb Durbin belted his sixth home run in 24 games during June. His 338-foot blast just cleared the Green Monster and put Boston ahead 4-1 in the first inning. He connected on a sweeper from Mikolas that hung right over the middle of the plate.

8. Wilyer Abreu’s RBI sac fly in the second inning put Boston ahead 5-1. Carlos Narváez’s RBI sac fly in the third inning made it 6-1.

9. Gold Glove center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela made a leaping catch on CJ Abrams’ 367-foot, 106.7 mph line drive in the eighth inning.

10. Nationals starter Miles Mikolas gave up four runs in the first inning and six runs in the first three innings. But he retired the final 14 straight batters he faced.

11. With Aroldis Chapman unavailable, Garrett Whitlock recorded the save with a scoreless ninth inning.

12. The Red Sox and Nationals will play the second game of their three-game series Tuesday at 7:10 p.m. Rookie left-hander Connelly Early (7-5, 3.59 ERA) will start for Boston while righty Cade Cavalli (4-4, 4.00 ERA) will start for Washington.

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BOSTON — Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras was ejected by first base umpire Nic Lentz during the second inning Monday.

Contreras tapped his helmet several times while walking back to the dugout after he struck out swinging. Lentz ruled that Contreras swung at an outside slider to end the at-bat while the first baseman thought he checked his swing.

Lentz reacted to Contreras by tapping his own head and throwing him out of the game.

Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy left the dugout to speak with Lentz after the ejection, then Contreras returned to the field with bench coach José Flores to join the discussion.

Contreras went 1 for 2. He blasted his 18th home run, a three-run shot that put Boston ahead 3-1 in the first inning. He connected on a 94.5 mph fastball right down the middle from Nationals starter Miles Mikolas and sent it 421 feet to left field. Contreras is on pace for 35 home runs.

Andruw Monasterio replaced Contreras at first base.

Contreras was emotional in the dugout after hitting his first-inning home run. He said a couple days ago that he’s been thinking about his native Venezuela constantly after a devastating earthquake struck the country.

• BETTING: For Tuesday’s interleague clash featuring the Red Sox and the Nationals, the over/under is listed at 9 total runs on DraftKings. Our comprehensive DraftKings Sportsbook review provides a full guide on how to use their platform.

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BOSTON — Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras didn’t think first base umpire Nic Lentz needed to eject him Monday.

Lentz, meanwhile, stuck by his decision after the Red Sox’ 6-3 win over the Nationals at Fenway Park.

Contreras tapped his helmet several times while walking back to the dugout after he struck out swinging during the second inning. Lentz ruled on an appeal at first base that Contreras swung at an outside slider to end the at-bat and that the slugger did not check his swing.

“I called him out on appeal for the check swing, and as he was walking back to the dugout, he started gesturing, tapping his helmet, like he wanted to challenge something that is not a challengeable call,” Lentz said to a pool reporter. “And so disrespect, and again gesturing towards what he thought was an incorrect call, got him removed from the game.”

Lentz — who tapped his own head while throwing out Contreras — said it is an automatic ejection if a player makes that gesture in a mocking way.

“It’s a lot like drawing a line in the dirt,” Lentz said.

Lentz added the gesture is “on the list for items for removal from the game.”

“You can have a little bit of discretion,” Lentz said. “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.”

Lentz confirmed that it was only the gesture — and nothing Contreras said to him — that led to the ejection.

“Nic and I have a really good relationship,” Contreras said. “We had a really good talk right before the game. He also mentioned Venezuela, which is good for him to know about it. ... I think it kind of surprised me because I never made eye contact with him.”

Contreras said the only time he looked at Lentz was to see his decision on the check swing. Contreras said he didn’t look at Lentz while returning to the dugout and the tapping “wasn’t directed at” Lentz.

“He (Lentz) felt like he showed him up and threw him out of the game,” Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said.

Tracy left the dugout to speak with Lentz after the ejection. Contreras then returned to the field with bench coach José Flores to join the discussion.

“To be honest with you, when it happened, I didn’t know what was going on,” Tracy said. “I kind of looked up and saw him throw somebody out. I thought somebody maybe had said something from the dugout. So if you guys saw me go out there, I was kind of trying to figure out what was happening.”

Contreras didn’t know Lentz ejected him until he returned inside the dugout and teammate Marcelo Mayer told him.

“And then I went out there to ask him why he threw me out,” Contreras said. “He told me, ‘Because you tapped your helmet.’ Yeah, but I didn’t make eye contact with you. I didn’t argue. I didn’t yell. I didn’t do nothing wrong. And he told me, ‘Yeah, but I have to throw you out.’”

Contreras added, “You didn’t have to, but you made that choice.”

Tracy said Contreras acted calmly when he left the dugout to speak with Lentz, telling the umpire he meant nothing by the gesture.

“He didn’t get heated at him or anything like that,” Tracy said.

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BOSTON — Instant reactions as Sonny Gray pitches 7 ⅓ no-hit innings, the Red Sox (36-46) blow a late lead — and then rally for a crazy, dramatic 5-4, 10-inning win to finish off a four-game sweep of the Yankees on Sunday night:

1) What looked like one of the worst losses imaginable turned into perhaps Boston’s best win of the year. The Yankees rallied back from a 2-0 deficit in the bottom of the ninth to score four unanswered runs, but the Red Sox punched back with a three-run 10th-inning rally and won the game on a Jarren Duran walk-off single.

Shortly after Justin Slaten allowed two Yankees runs in the top of the inning, Anthony Seigler led off with an RBI single to make it a one-run game, scoring the automatic runner. Pinch-hitter Masataka Yoshida then jumped on the first pitch Fernando Cruz threw him to put two runners in scoring position with a double into right field. Then, Tsung-Che Cheng’s sacrifice fly tied it before Duran — who didn’t start the game against lefty Carlos Rodón — ended it by shooting a 1-1 slider into right field, finding green grass with the Yankees playing with five infielders.

Cruz allowed three runs while recording just one out. It was Boston’s second walk-off win of the year and the first since April 17. Duran now has two walk-off hits, with the other coming in 2024.

2) For much of the night, Gray looked like he was going to make history, dominating the Yankees lineup for 7 ⅓ hitless innings in his best outing of 2026. With one out in the eighth, Amed Rosario laced a single up the middle, ending Gray’s no-hit bid — and his night.

Gray allowed just one baserunner (he walked Rosario in the fifth) in the first eight innings and struck out nine batters. He threw 97 pitches and received a very loud ovation from the crowd at Fenway Park. Gray tipped his cap to the fans and was greeted with hugs from various teammates as he approached the dugout.

It was the longest no-hit bid of Gray’s 14-year big league career, beating a seven-inning effort when he was with the A’s back in April 2015. The last Red Sox pitcher to have a bid that long was Garrett Crochet last April in Chicago. Crochet also went 7 ⅓ no-hit innings in that game.

3) The crazy win allowed the Red Sox to do something they hadn’t done all season: win a fourth game in a row. Boston now has its longest winning streak of 2026 after stalling out at three straight wins on three separate occasions, with the last coming May 20 after a sweep in Kansas City.

The Red Sox had not swept a four-game series against New York since August 2018. They’ve now won five of their last six against the Yankees this season after dropping the first three. The rivalry will be renewed in the Bronx in late August.

4) Gray’s part of the game came easy for the Red Sox. Once Aroldis Chapman entered for the ninth, things went off the rails as the closer blew his second save in six days.

Chapman allowed a leadoff single to José Caballero, then walked Anthony Volpe before Ben Rice lifted a deep fly ball to Abreu. With Caballero trying to advance to third, Abreu threw into the infield but airmailed second baseman Anthony Seigler with no Sox in position to back up.

The ball got all the way to the backstop as Caballero scored and Volpe got all the way to third. Volpe then scored the tying run on a Paul Goldschmidt chopper to shortstop Tsung-Che Cheng, sliding under Connor Wong’s tag at the plate.

5) More aggressive Yankees baserunning and sloppiness by Abreu led to the Yankees taking a 4-2 lead in the 10th. Facing Slaten with automatic runner Max Schuemann on second, Rosario lifted a fly ball into shallow left. Schuemann — for some reason — was off on contact and right fielder Wilyer Abreu failed to make the catch, dropping the ball. Schuemann aggressively went home to score as Rosario took second. The Yankees then went up two runs when Rosario broke for home on an Austin Wells swinging bunt and beat Slaten’s flip home.

At that point, it looked like the Red Sox were staring down the barrel of their worst loss of the season — and recent memory, really. But the bats ensured that wouldn’t happen against a flustered Cruz in the 10th.

6) Despite blowing the save, Chapman made a bit of history with two strikeouts. His inning-ending punch-out of Schuemann was the 1,363rd of his career, tying Hoyt Wilhelm for the most by a reliever in MLB history. Chapman will have that record all to himself with one more strikeout the next time he pitches.

Gray also had a personal milestone, notching his 2,000th strikeout when he got Spencer Jones to lead off the eighth. He’s the seventh active pitcher to get to that mark.

7) Gray’s deep bid came after a series of no-hit flirtations by his Red Sox rotation mates. Last Friday in Seattle, Ranger Suarez went 6 ⅓ innings before giving up a hit. The two games before Sunday’s saw Payton Tolle throw 5 ⅓ perfect innings Friday night and Jake Bennett take a no-hit bid into the fifth Saturday.

Gray’s attempt, though, felt more real than the others. If he had gotten the final five outs without allowing a hit, he would have been the first Red Sox pitcher to throw a no-hitter since Jon Lester in 2008 (and the first major league starter to do it since Los Angeles’ Blake Snell in 2024).

“I legitimately thought he was gonna do it,” said interim manager Chad Tracy.

8) The Red Sox took the lead with some timely hitting in the fourth. Facing a staunch Carlos Rodón, Abreu worked a one-out walk, then Willson Contreras reached on a fielding error by Oswaldo Cabrera at third base. With two outs, Caleb Durbin dumped a two-run single into shallow center field. Durbin had the go-ahead hit in two of Boston’s four wins in the series.

Durbin’s hit was the only hit of the game until the bottom of the seventh, when Wong went the other way with a one-out single. It was a sleepy offensive effort until the late-inning fireworks, and there were just nine total hits between the clubs.

9) Every no-hitter (or deep bid) has a very memorable defensive play — and Abreu had Sunday’s. With one out in the third, Wells smacked a sinking liner into right-center and Abreu, after getting a great jump, made a very impressive sliding catch on the ball.

Gray tipped his cap toward his right fielder after the play. It was a night of high highs and low lows for the two-time Gold Glover, who had a two-error game.

10) Chad Tracy went to Tyron Guerrero — and not Garrett Whitlock — to replace Gray in the eighth. Whitlock had already pitched twice in the series (Thursday and Saturday) and was not available, according to Tracy. In any case, Guerrero got the call before passing the baton to Chapman.

11) The Red Sox couldn’t get much going against Rodón, who allowed just the one hit in five innings. But four walks drove up the lefty’s pitch count and he left the game at 96 pitches after five innings.

Both of Boston’s runs off him were unearned.

12) Romy Gonzalez went 0-for-4 in his return to the lineup (and season debut), grounding out all four times he came to the plate. He grounded into a double play in the bottom of the ninth after Willson Contreras led off with a single.

13) The frustrations of a long weekend in Boston boiled over for the Yankees after the sixth inning when Jazz Chisholm Jr. took exception to home plate umpire Adam Hamari ruling that he swung on a pitch in the dirt for strike three. Chisholm threw his helmet and was ejected as manager Aaron Boone ran out to calm things down.

14) The hot-hitting Nationals are next up on the schedule for the Red Sox. Here’s the schedule (with pitching probables) for the three-game series, which starts Monday night at Fenway:

Monday, 7:10 p.m. ET — RHP Miles Mikolas (2-6, 5.24 ERA) vs. LHP Ranger Suarez (3-3, 2.83 ERA)

Tuesday, 7:10 p.m. ET — RHP Cade Cavalli (4-4, 4.00 ERA) vs. LHP Connelly Early (7-5, 3.59 ERA)

Wednesday, 1:35 p.m. ET — LHP Andrew Alvarez (1-1, 3.44 ERA) vs. LHP Payton Tolle (4-5, 2.78 ERA)

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BOSTON — Nearly two months after landing on the injured list with shoulder fatigue, Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet is trying to find silver linings — and remaining hopeful he’ll be back in the team’s rotation relatively soon.

Speaking at his locker at Fenway Park on Friday, Crochet said he’s not concerned that there’s anything more serious than anticipated going on with his shoulder after a recent strength test showed that his strength had not improved enough for him to restart a throwing program. Instead, Crochet said, it’s a matter of following protocols and making sure he’s good to go after a mild lat strain interrupted his progress as he ramped up late last month.

Crochet has been throwing with plyometric (lighter) balls but has not played catch with a baseball since throwing a one-inning live batting practice session on May 26, then being shut down with lat issues a few days later. He hopes he takes that step soon.

“I hope to have a ball — a real baseball — in my hand here soon,“ Crochet said. ”The plyos that I’m doing, though, are not far off. I’m throwing seven ounces, so it’s not like I’m afraid to get close to baseball weight. It’s moreso just the protocol.

“Just still just throwing plyos, doing a lot of (isometric) work. When the team was on the road and I stayed back, I made some good headway. Been trending up for a while. I think that let setback is making us be extra cautious this time, naturally. Just in that situation where it’s like, wait until you feel great, then wait a couple more days.”

Crochet was hopeful to restart his throwing program last week when he stayed back in Boston as the team traveled west to Seattle and Denver. Tests Monday revealed less-than-desirable strength numbers in his shoulder, so the team decided to continue with a cautious approach. Still, there’s no structural damage in the area and Crochet doesn’t believe surgery is on the table. The goal for the past 10 days or so has been trying to avoid overcompensating while throwing.

“When one thing gets weak, something else takes over and that’s kinda what we were doing when the team was on the road, just trying to get out of the compensation as much as possible,” Crochet said. “I’ve never had crazy strength numbers when doing testing with the training stuff. For me, it’s moreso just that I operate really well within certain limits and when I fall out of those ranges, my mechanics get off and things start to compensate. Then, that weakness is exploited.”

Crochet won’t be back before the All-Star break but isn’t sure when he might return to a major league mound. When he starts throwing again, he’ll need to play catch numerous times before throwing off a mound on a series of occasions. Then will come simulated games (like the one May 26) and most likely, multiple rehab games.

“I have target dates I won’t share,” Crochet said, laughing. “I have target dates in my mind but I don’t know what the team’s target date is. I just want to get back as soon as I can.”

For Crochet, the downtime has allowed him to re-examine his mechanics, which he felt were out of whack during a six-outing start to the season in which he logged a 6.30 ERA. It has also allowed him to retroactively re-think how he prepared for 2026 after pitching a career-high 213 innings (including the postseason) last year.

“Disappointing,” Crochet said. “It’s not like I was throwing the ball great, so to go on the IL on top of that kinda sucks. When I initially went on the IL, it was like, ‘Well this is an (expletive) feeling. I was throwing the ball well, then I had a good one and started to feel like I’m making ground (up). Then go on the IL.

“You try to find the bright side in it. For me, this is a good chance to get my mechanics in a good spot. I think I was still just kinda dealing with a little bit of a hangover from the previous year. Just formed some bad habits once the fatigue hit, and even in the offseason. I took some time off but then because of the (World Baseball Classic), we’re getting ready for spring a little earlier. I took more time off, but that made the ramp-up have to be quicker. Just things I hope to learn from.”

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BOSTON — For weeks, the Red Sox tried to ride the hot hand by using call-up Mickey Gasper at the top of their lineup. Gasper has slumped in recent weeks, though, and is now heading back to Triple-A.

Boston activated Romy Gonzalez from the injured list and optioned Gasper before Sunday’s game against the Yankees Gonzalez will make his season debut Sunday night against the Yankees and lefty Carlos Rodón as the designated hitter. To re-add Gonzalez to the 40-man roster, the Red Sox transferred Roman Anthony to the 60-day injured list in a paper move that will not impact his timetable because he has already been out nearly two months.

Gasper, who was called up from the WooSox in early May when Anthony first hit the IL, has appeared in 34 games since May 10, starting 27. He. hit .328 with a .789 OPS (19-for-58 with three doubles and a triple) in his first 19 games but has struggled since. In 15 games since June 5, Gasper has hit just .143 (7-for-49) with two doubles, six strikeouts and a .406 OPS. The Red Sox have hit him either first or second 15 times in the last six weeks. Now, he’s off the roster because Gonzalez and Masataka Yoshida are expected to get most of the at-bats at DH in the coming weeks.

“Obviously, he has cooled off a little bit with the bat,” said interim manager Chad Tracy. “The quality is still really good. It’s more about with Romy active — and you know Romy’s not going to be able to run out there and play five or six games in a row at second base — so you’re gonna have to take him down some DH at-bats. You’re going to have Masa (Yoshida) take down some DH at-bats. The need to get away from three catchers and have more versatility on the bench was just imperative at this point. We rode that for a while.”

Gonzalez appeared in 96 games for the Red Sox last season and hit .305 with nine homers, 53 RBIs and an .826 OPS. He was particularly effective against left-handed pitching, batting .331 with a .978 OPS against southpaws. Gonzalez hurt his shoulder during the final week of the season and played hurt during Boston’s brief trip to the postseason. He thought the issue would subside by the beginning of spring training but experienced continued discomfort when he arrived in Fort Myers. After further testing, Gonzalez underwent an “arthroscopic debridement” procedure on his left, non-throwing shoulder on March 12.

“Obviously, I didn’t think this would be this serious,” Gonzalez said Sunday. “I’m happy it got it done. Just super excited to be back.”

Gonzalez is expected to see time at both DH and second base now that he’s healthy while also serving as a depth option behind Willson Contreras at first base. The Red Sox believe he can add an element to their lineup that has been missing all year. That begins Sunday against Rodón, though Gonzalez is just 1-for-16 against the veteran in his career.

“It’s been a while,” Gonzalez said. “Obviously, I haven’t played since October. I’m excited.”

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BOSTON — Facing New York’s Carlos Rodón on Sunday night, the Red Sox will welcome back lefty-masher Romy Gonzalez and hold the struggling Jarren Duran out of the lineup.

Gonzalez, who missed the first half of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery in March, will hit fifth as the designated hitter Sunday night. Duran is not starting and the Red Sox will instead use Nate Eaton as their left fielder and leadoff man. Boston will start seven right-handed hitters — including switch-hitting second baseman Anthony Seigler and catcher Connor Wong — against the veteran Rodón as it looks to cap off a four-game sweep over the Yankees.

Duran had started 73 of Boston’s first 81 games, including 14 against left-handed starters. With Gonzalez back and Eaton on the roster, it’s possible the Red Sox will look to be more selective with how they use Duran against left-handed pitchers.

“The lefty’s out there, Romy’s back,” said interim manager Chad Tracy. “It allows us, by doing that, to keep Seigler in the lineup, get Romy in the lineup and get Nate in the lineup. It’s very logical (for Duran) to take a breather and we’ve got two righties coming up with Washington the next two days. He’ll be right back in there.”

Duran, who had a verbal altercation with a fan behind the Red Sox dugout Saturday, is in a 3-for-37 skid in his last 10 games. On Saturday, he struck out twice in an 0-for-4 showing. His average is down to .198 after a brutal June in which he has hit .148 with three extra-base hits, 32 strikeouts and a .413 OPS.

“His timing’s a little mixed up,” Tracy said. “When he got hot in May, he was locked and the timing was locked. Everything was squared up and there were balls going over the fence. His timing’s off and mixed up and he’s searching for it.”

The return of Gonzalez gives the Red Sox a potent right-handed bat against left-handed pitchers. In 2025, the utility man hit .331 with a .978 OPS in 143 plate appearances against lefties. Boston is 9-10 against southpaws so far this season.

The Red Sox will send righty Sonny Gray to the mound against his former team for the second time this month. The veteran is riding a streak of five straight quality starts and is 7-0 with a 2.36 ERA since coming off the injured list on May 6. He pitched 6 ⅓ innings against the Yankees on June 5 and allowed three earned runs on eight hits while striking out three batters in a 5-3 win.

First pitch is at 7:20 p.m. ET and the game will air on NBC and Peacock.

NEW YORK YANKEES (48-34) vs. BOSTON RED SOX (35-46) · FENWAY PARK · BOSTON, MA · GAME 82

FIRST PITCH: 7:20 p.m. ET

TV CHANNEL: NBC / Peacock

RADIO: WEEI 93.7 FM

PITCHING PROBABLES: LHP Carlos Rodón (4-2, 3.70 ERA) vs. RHP Sonny Gray (9-1, 2.95 ERA)

RED SOX LINEUP:

1. Nate Eaton LF
2. Ceddanne Rafaela CF
3. Wilyer Abreu RF
4. Willson Contreras 1B
5. Romy Gonzalez DH
6. Caleb Durbin 3B
7. Anthony Seigler 2B
8. Connor Wong C
9. Tsung-Che Cheng SS

YANKEES LINEUP:

1. Jazz Chisholm Jr. 2B
2. Ben Rice 1B
3. Jasson Domínguez RF
4. Cody Bellinger LF
5. Spencer Jones CF
6. Amed Rosario DH
7. Oswaldo Cabrera 3B
8. Austin Wells C
9. José Caballero SS

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BOSTON — Red Sox rookie starter Payton Tolle woke up Friday with a fever and body aches.

“I laid in bed for a long time this morning,” Tolle said. “And then got here, got some DayQuil in me.”

Despite feeling sick, Tolle dominated the Yankees with his longest career scoreless outing. He led the Red Sox to a 6-1 victory at Fenway Park.

“I think that’s why I hit the wall so hard in the seventh — just not sleeping great and being a lazy bum in bed all day," Tolle said.

The 23-year-old lefty retired the first 16 Yankees batters before allowing a one-out single to Spencer Jones in the sixth inning. It was the only hit he allowed in seven scoreless innings. He gave up two walks and struck out seven.

“He was awesome,” interim manager Chad Tracy said. “Yeah, awesome. I don’t really know much to say about it other than awesome. Pounded the strike zone. Was ahead in the count all night. Struck out seven. Had his secondaries working. Was landing curveballs. Used the cutter very effectively. He was just really, really good.”

Tolle was set on pitching throughout the day despite being under the weather.

“This morning, I was like, ‘I don’t feel great, but I’m gonna pitch today,’” he said. “And there were a couple times where I was like, ‘Do I tell anybody? Should I just push through this?’”

Some vitamin boosters also helped him push through.

“It was a grinder one,” Tolle said.

He didn’t show his usual level of emotion on the mound.

“All business because he was very focused on making sure he got through it and conserved his energy,” Tracy said.

With his body aching, Tolle didn’t have his best velocity either. He averaged 94.4 mph with his 30 four-seam fastballs, down from his yearly average of 96.1 mph.

“I’m definitely trying to like get to spots better because you can’t just blow guys away,” Tolle said. “But there’s also some points you get to two strikes ... or something and it’s like, ‘We gotta let it eat. We gotta go.’”

Tolle, who has reached triple-digits with his fastball this season, topped out at 96.4 mph.

“Felt like going into the outing, we may not see a bunch of 98s and touching 99s,” Tracy said. “But to watch him pitch the way he did, it was awesome. He knew he might be a couple ticks down, but he just navigated the strike zone and moved the ball around and used his arsenal. It was awesome.”

The crowd gave Tolle a nice ovation after Jones’ hit in the sixth.

Tolle joked that he began thinking “way too early” about how he hadn’t yet allowed a baserunner.

“I might have thought about it third inning,” Tolle said. “Whenever those guys that have thrown no hitters or perfect games and they say, ‘I didn’t think about it until the end of the game,’ it’s like, ‘All right, dude. You thought about it at least once in there. You looked up at the scoreboard at some point.’”

Tolle was efficient throughout. He struck out the side on 10 pitches in the second inning. He threw 61 of his 88 pitches for strikes (69.3%).

“Mostly just watching him jump ahead strike-one constantly, that was the most impressive part,” Tracy said.

Tolle induced 11 swings and misses: four with his four-seam fastball, four with his cutter and three with his curveball.

“I really took the best one-inning-at-a-time approach that I’ve had all year with it,” Tolle said. “It’s like, ‘All right, everything you got for the first and the second.’ And then it just kind of kept going and going.”

Red Sox fans gave him a standing ovation as he walked off after recording the final out of the seventh inning.

“It was really cool,” Tolle said. “I figured it was my last (inning), too. So I took a moment. It was a slow walk in just because I wanted to look up and take it in again. It’s a good environment. Friday night against the Yankees is going to be a great environment here. So yeah, take it in, and it was a lot of fun.”

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BOSTON — For the first time in years, the Red Sox and Yankees had a benches-clearing incident Friday at Fenway. And you guessed it, Willson Contreras was right in the middle of the action.

With Boston leading 4-0 in the fifth inning behind a dominant Payton Tolle, Contreras took a 3-2 pitch high and inside for ball four against right-hander Will Warren. As he trotted down to first, Contreras flipped his bat and turned in Warren’s direction while appearing to send some choice words toward the pitcher. When he got to first base, Contreras was still jawing until umpire Clint Vondrak began to hold him back. First baseman Paul Goldschmidt — Contreras’ former Cardinals teammate — turned in Contreras’ direction as both dugouts emptied.

Contreras, who two innings earlier had hit a 111.9 mph, 418-foot homer off Warren that easily cleared the Green Monster, seemed to take exception that three of the four balls from Warren in his fifth-inning plate appearance were high and inside.

“Part of the game. That’s it,” Contreras said. “Many people can look at it in different ways. I look at it one way. It’s just part of the game.”

Warren, speaking to reporters in the Yankees clubhouse, said he “was trying to make a pitch up and in” and said Contreras — who is known for standing closer to the plate than most hitters — was “playing games in the box.” Yankees manager Aaron Boone called Contreras’ actions “ridiculous.”

“That’s what he does a lot,” Boone said. “I mean, his arms hang over the plate, so I don’t know where we’re supposed to go. I think there’s probably a method to what he’s doing -- probably wants that -- but obviously, nothing’s going on. We probably needed to do a better job of getting the ball in on him tonight. So the warnings and the barking seemed kind of ridiculous.”

After the benches emptied, the Sox and Yankees stayed on their sides of the field and the clubs never came together. The bullpens slowly emptied from right field. No punches were thrown or shoves were exchanged. The umpiring crew issued a warning to both teams as Contreras kept jawing toward the Yankees dugout — in a colorful manner.

“Stuff happens sometimes,” said Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy. “We were all out there and there was nothing happening. I didn’t see it all, but I think the two of them chirped at each other a little bit on the way down the line. Everybody went out there and stood out there and had a picnic and came back in. Nothing going on, not a huge deal.”

Contreras, who also had an RBI single in the first inning off Warren, made headlines in January when he took a shot at the Yankees shortly after the Red Sox acquired him in a trade. At that point, he vowed to “play with fire” whenever the rivals squared off and said the Yankees were “probably going to start hating” him when the teams played each other. On Friday, he seemed to attempt to make good on his word.

“It’s a really good rivalry,” Contreras said. “I played with the Cubs, I played with the Cardinals and that’s a good rivalry. This one is really good. I think it’s good for baseball. Makes baseball fun. Everything you guys saw tonight is part of the game.

“So many people are trying to push to take that away from the game. I think we need a little bit more of that saltiness and rivalry. I’ll say that.”

Friday wasn’t the first time Contreras was involved in a fiery interaction this season. In April, after being hit by the Brewers for the 24th time in his career, Contreras vowed to “take one of them out” if it happened again. Less than a month later in Detroit, he stoked a benches-clearing situation when starter Framber Valdez allegedly threw at Trevor Story on purpose.

“He’s a fiery player. We all know that by now,” said Tracy. “He plays with a lot of emotion and you saw it tonight. I don’t think he’s doing anything. I just think he’s a fiery player and he came up big for us tonight.”

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