Major League Baseball suspended Washington Nationals starting pitcher Cade Cavalli and Boston Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras seven games apiece on Thursday for their roles in a benches-clearing incident on Tuesday in Boston.

MLB also suspended Nationals right-hander Miles Mikolas for five games and Red Sox outfielder Nate Eaton for three for their actions during the incident at Fenway Park.

The four players each were fined an undisclosed amount as part of the discipline.

The suspensions are scheduled to begin Friday, when the Red Sox visit the Los Angeles Angels, and the Nationals host the Pittsburgh Pirates. The players can appeal the discipline, which will be held in abeyance until the process is complete.

Cavalli, 27, apologized Wednesday for his comment toward Contreras that ignited a benches-clearing fracas in the fourth inning of Washington’s 8-1 win. After the right-hander struck out Contreras, Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said he heard Cavalli yell, “Sit down, boy,” although the pitcher told reporters, “I don’t know. I just lose my head in it. I’m competitive. I just told him to sit down.”

Contreras, 34, had to be restrained as both benches emptied. He later tossed his batting helmet toward Cavalli during the melee and was ejected. Eaton and Mikolas, neither of whom was playing in the game, and Tracy also were tossed out by crew chief and second base umpire Vic Carapazza.

Contreras said after the game Tuesday that he didn’t know if there were any racial overtones to Cavalli calling him “boy.”

“I’m Venezuelan. I don’t know if he’s racist or not,” Contreras said. “I’ll let MLB handle that.”

On Wednesday, Cavalli said he did not mean to use the term in a disparaging way.

“I’m extremely torn up about the way that things were perceived,” Cavalli said. “Obviously, there was no ill intention behind that.”

Cavalli, however, said he understands the racist meaning behind the word he used, even if it wasn’t his intention.

“There’s a history behind that word, and that’s just something that as a competitor, like in football or basketball, playing wiffle ball with my brother, you don’t understand it,” Cavalli said. “And then it gets perceived in a way that was not my intention, and then you learn from that. It’ll never happen again.”

Cavalli, who stayed in the game and earned the victory, is 5-4 with a 3.69 ERA in 90 1/3 innings over 18 starts.

Contreras is batting .283 with 18 home runs and 53 RBIs in 83 games.

Eaton, 29, is batting .174 (4-for-23) with one homer and five RBIs in 11 games.

Mikolas, 37, is 2-7 with a 5.44 ERA, 17 walks and 47 strikeouts in 84 1/3 innings over 18 games (seven starts) in his first season with Washington.

–Field Level Media

The Montreal Canadiens’ Jakub Dobes, who led all rookie goaltenders with 29 wins this past season, signed a three-year, $16.07 million contract extension on Thursday.

Dobes, 25, who could have become a restricted free agent after this coming season, now is signed through the 2029-30 campaign. The new terms have an average annual value of $5.357 million beginning in 2027-28. He signed a two-year, $1.93 million contract in July 2025.

Dobes went 29-10-4 with a 2.78 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage in 43 games (42 starts) this season. He also went 9-10 with a 2.66 GAA and a .908 save percentage in the playoffs as the Canadiens advanced to the Eastern Conference finals.

He made the NHL All-Rookie Team for 2025-26.

For his career, Dobes is 36-14-7 with a 2.77 GAA and a .904 save percentage in 59 regular-season games (57 starts) over two seasons.

Montreal selected Dobes in the fifth round of the 2020 NHL Draft.

–Field Level Media

Lucas Glover and Zac Blair share the first-round lead at the John Deere Classic after posting bogey-free, 8-under 63s on Thursday in Silvis, Ill.

Zach Johnson, Lee Hodges and German Stephan Jaeger are one stroke behind the co-leaders after one trip around TPC Deere Run. Davis Riley used a hole-in-one and an eagle on consecutive holes to shoot a 6-under 65, where he’s tied with Ben Kohles and Patrick Fishburn.

Glover, 46, birdied seven of his first 11 holes before cooling down the rest of the way. The 2009 U.S. Open champion won the John Deere in 2021 and has collected three of his six PGA Tour titles in this decade.

Blair, meanwhile, is searching for his first PGA Tour victory. The 35-year-old started his day on the back nine, then went birdie-eagle at Nos. 1-2 for a boost. He led the field in strokes gained on approach.

Johnson’s eagle-birdie finish pushed him near the top of the leaderboard and all but ensured he will make the cut at the John Deere for an incredible 18th year in a row. The native of nearby Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has played the event every year since 2002 and skipped the U.S. Senior Open this week to keep that streak going.

Riley stood at 2 under for his round before sinking the first hole-in-one of his PGA Tour career at the par-3, 150-yard 16th hole. His shot landed just behind the pin and slowly spun back to the cup. He followed that up with an 18 1/2-foot eagle putt at the par-5 17th.

Defending champion Brian Campbell and two-time John Deere winner Jordan Spieth opened with 1-under 70s.

–Field Level Media