Bad blood

There have been a number of heated incidents between the Devil Rays and Red Sox. Among the highlights:

By MARC TOPKIN
Published April 25, 2005

[Times photo: Dirk Shadd] David Ortiz rushes pitcher Lance Carter after being decked. A bench-clearing brawl ensued.
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	Teammates restrain Boston's Trot Nixon, who claims that Tampa Bay's Dewon Brazelton tried to poke his eyes. [AP photo]

Aug. 29, 2000: Boston's Pedro Martinez hits leadoff man Gerald Williams, igniting the first of two bench-clearing brawls and setting the tone for a night in which eight Rays are ejected.

Sept. 29, 2000: Tampa Bay's Roberto Hernandez strikes out Trot Nixon to end the game that eliminates the Red Sox, then waves goodbye to them from the mound. "They're going home," Hernandez says. "They don't have to worry about any playoffs now. They can stop watching now. Scoreboard's over. Goodbye."

May 5, 2002: Tampa Bay's Ryan Rupe hits Nomar Garciaparra and Shea Hillenbrand in the first inning. The next inning, Trot Nixon's bat "slips out" of his hand and flies toward Rupe, earning Nixon a four-game suspension. Boston pitcher Frank Castillo later hits Randy Winn and is suspended five games.

SEPT. 9-10, 2002: With the umpires on notice from MLB about the potential for trouble, Boston pitcher Derek Lowe and manager Grady Little are ejected after Lowe hits Felix Escalona the first night, then Rays pitcher Lee Gardner and manager Hal McRae are tossed the next night after Gardner hits Lou Merloni. Umpire Jerry Crawford says: "(MLB) feels it is one of the more serious situations going on in the game today."

Sept. 27, 2004: Boston's Bronson Arroyo hits Aubrey Huff and Tino Martinez, then Tampa Bay's Scott Kazmir hits Manny Ramirez and Kevin Millar in consecutive at-bats, leading to a bench-clearing gathering. Kazmir and manager Lou Piniella are ejected.

SUNDAY: After five batters are hit in the first two games and Aubrey Huff is hit Sunday, tempers flare when Lance Carter throws a pitch at David Ortiz's head, leading to a bench-clearing incident and the ejections of Nixon and Dewon Brazelton, along with Carter and Piniella. Arroyo then hits Chris Singleton, and is ejected along with manager Terry Francona.

[Last modified April 25, 2005, 01:04:14]