​Willson Contreras opened the 2026 T-Mobile Home Run Derby as the very first hitter of the night, and he made sure nobody forgot it, launching 13 home runs in the opening round at Citizens Bank Park.The Boston Red Sox slugger arrived in Philadelphia as one of the longer shots in an eight-man field, and his opening burst came just days removed from a suspension that briefly threatened to keep him out of the event altogether.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementContreras, 34, has spent this season quietly building a career year in his first summer at Fenway Park. Monday night handed him a national stage to show off the kind of power that got him there in the first place.Read More From Heavy Red Sox Make Willson Contreras Decision After Nationals Game IncidentContreras’ 13-homer total put him squarely in the mix for a semifinal berth, and he did it averaging 449 feet per swing. His longest blast of the round traveled 490 feet, the same account noted, a shot far enough to cash the “over” on the prop bet for the derby’s longest homer of the night, which had been set at 484.5 feet, according to a betting-focused account on X.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThat kind of raw distance wasn’t entirely a shock. Contreras came into the derby at 14-1 odds to win the event, according to ESPN’s David Schoenfield, who noted the Red Sox catcher-turned-first baseman carries a 96th-percentile bat speed and entered All-Star week already within four homers of his career high. Schoenfield also flagged a wrinkle working against Contreras: Citizens Bank Park tends to favor left-handed pull hitters, and the right-handed Contreras has sent all but one of his 20 home runs this season toward left field.Read More From Heavy MLB Slaps Willson Contreras With Harsh Punishment Over Red Sox-Nationals BrawlAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementContreras nearly didn’t make it to Philadelphia. He was handed a seven-game suspension that got reduced to five games on appeal, according to MLB.com‘s Ian Browne, stemming from a benches-clearing incident with the Washington Nationals on June 30. Contreras fired his helmet toward pitcher Cade Cavalli after Cavalli struck him out and shouted “Sit down, boy,” setting off the scrum between the two clubs.Contreras began serving the reduced punishment last Thursday, a timeline that clears him for both the derby and Tuesday’s All-Star Game before he rejoins Boston’s lineup July 17 against Tampa Bay. Interim manager Chad Tracy said before the punishment was finalized that the club would need to “win some ballgames” without its slugger in the interim.The derby also arrived amid a far heavier backdrop for Contreras. The Puerto Cabello native has been playing with his home country on his mind since back-to-back earthquakes struck Venezuela in late June, a disaster that has killed more than 1,400 people and left tens of thousands missing, according to Boston.com‘s Kaley Brown. Contreras grew emotional discussing