Red Sox V Rays = BAD BLOOD!

On his way to a one-hit, 8-0 shutout, Pedro Martinez plunked Tampa outfielder Gerald Williams with his fourth pitch of the game. Williams charged the mound, shoved the Red Sox hurler, and was the first of eight Rays ejected from a contest that saw two bench-clearing skirmishes, four hit batters, punches thrown and two Boston players in the hospital.

Two days after the multiple beanings, Sox pitcher Curt Schilling blasted Lou Piniella, saying Piniella is "a manager who somehow forgot how the game is played" and claiming Rays players referred to their skipper as "this idiot." In response, Piniella said that he had "forgotten more baseball" than Schilling knew and called it a "cheap shot."

Manny Ramirez homered one pitch after nearly being plunked in a game that saw beanings, near beanings and six ejections. In the seventh inning, Rays pitcher Lance Carter nearly hit Ramirez before throwing a pitch over the head of David Ortiz, the next batter, bringing players out of both dugouts. In the bottom half of the inning, the benches cleared again when Arroyo hit Chris Singleton. After the game, Ortiz talked about the game and the pitch that almost hit his head: "That's dangerous. I think they need to stop the hitting thing."

The Rays and Red Sox are getting ready to rumble in the ALCS this Friday. It's their first postseason matchup, but the teams have a long history of fighting that dates to the start of the decade. Here's a recap. One day after his hard slide took out Rays second baseman Akinori Iwamura, Red Sox outfielder Coco Crisp found himself on the receiving end of a James Shields fastball. Crisp charged the mound, and, as the benches cleared, dodged a roundhouse punch from Shields. When the fight was over, Shields, Crisp and the Rays' Jonny Gomes were ejected. Eight players were suspended.