Just in case anyone wondered if the
Boston Red Sox-
New York Yankees rivalry still had steam, the two teams showed it is alive and well Wednesday night when they had a bench-clearing brawl in the seventh inning of the Yankees' 10-7 win at Fenway Park.
The brawl began when Red Sox reliever
Joe Kelly threw inside toward Yankees designated hitter
Tyler Austin on one pitch, and two pitches later drilled Austin with a 97-mph fastball aimed at his back. Austin yelled and angrily threw his bat to the ground. Austin took several steps toward the mound, looked at Kelly, and Kelly motioned for him to come at him.
And before you knew it, everyone was in on the fray, with the bullpens, coaches, and players began pushing and shoving as Kelly and Austin exchanged punches. Austin was punched several times by Kelly and was left with a fat lip. And Austin connected with Red Sox coach Carlos Febles.
The two players were immediately ejected along with Yankees third base coach Phil Nevin.
The brawl was instigated in the third inning when Austin slid hard into shortstop Brock Holt trying to break up a double play. The slide was late, but over the bag, but Holt and the Red Sox were furious. Holt made no indication he'd try to complete the double play, and Austin's spikes caught him in the calf area.
"He overslid," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of Austin, "and his spikes were up."
When Kelly entered the game in the seventh, he made sure to get his revenge, and the brawl was on.
No one else was seen throwing any punches, with Yankees sluggers Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton acting as peacemakers.
Stanton, asked by
MLB Network after the Yankees' victory if there would be carryover to Thursday's series finale and the remainder of the season series, replied: "Shoot, tomorrow and the rest of the season, I bet. Strap up, it’ll be a good one."