BASEBALL: First-inning homers lift Red Sox past Nationals for 5th straight win

Willson Contreras and Caleb Durbin hit first-inning home runs as the Boston Red Sox defeated the visiting Washington Nationals 6-3 in the opening game of their series on Monday night.

Contreras launched a three-run homer to highlight a four-run first inning, while Durbin followed with a solo shot as Boston built an early lead. The Red Sox scored all six of their runs over the first three innings, extending their winning streak to five games.

Ceddanne Rafaela and Anthony Seigler each collected two hits for Boston.

Ranger Suarez (4-3) earned the win after allowing three runs on five hits over six innings. The left-hander struck out eight and walked one, marking the Red Sox pitching staff's 12th consecutive quality start.

Garrett Whitlock pitched a scoreless ninth inning, striking out two batters to earn his first save of the season.

Washington struck first when James Wood hit a leadoff home run over the right-field bullpen on the third pitch of the game. It was his 21st homer of the season and his sixth leadoff home run this year.

Curtis Mead finished 2-for-4, while CJ Abrams drove in two runs with a double for the Nationals, who entered the game on a two-game winning streak.

After surrendering the leadoff homer, Suarez retired the next nine batters and did not allow another hit until the sixth inning as Boston built a 6-1 advantage.

The Red Sox chased Nationals starter Miles Mikolas (2-7) early, collecting five hits during their four-run first inning. Consecutive singles by Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu set the stage for Contreras' towering three-run homer over the Green Monster in left-center field. It was Contreras' first home run since an earthquake struck his native Venezuela.

Durbin added a solo home run later in the inning to extend Boston's lead.

Boston added another run in the second after Tsung-Che Cheng singled and Rafaela and Masataka Yoshida helped load the bases. Abreu then lifted a sacrifice fly to make it 5-0.

Contreras was ejected later in the second inning by first-base umpire Nic Lentz after appearing to tap his helmet following a checked-swing strikeout, a gesture that was interpreted as mocking the automated ball-strike challenge system.

The Red Sox pushed their lead to 6-0 in the third when Seigler doubled, stole third base and scored on Carlos Narvaez's sacrifice fly.

Mikolas recovered after the rough start, retiring the final 13 batters he faced. He allowed six runs on nine hits over seven innings, striking out three without issuing a walk.

The Nationals scored twice in the sixth inning on Abrams' two-run double into the right-field corner, but could not erase the early deficit as Boston secured the series-opening victory. -Field Level Media/Reuters