The Red Sox and Rays have historically not gotten along very well. Their “rivalry” — if you can call it that — added another chapter on Monday night.
With the Red Sox clinging to a 6-4 lead in the sixth inning, John Lackey drilled Rays outfielder Matt Joyce in the back with a fastball with two outs and nobody on base. Joyce, who had homered off Lackey in the first inning, didn’t take too kindly to that, so he began jawing with Lackey as he walked to first base.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia stepped in between pitcher and batter as Joyce turned his attention to the Red Sox catcher. At that point, the benches emptied out and some vigorous shoving ensued.
According to reports from St. Petersburg, Lackey had previously been talking with the Rays dugout in between innings, and it seems those words were not the most cordial. In any case, nobody was ejected after the altercation, and Lackey was removed from the game a batter later when a Ben Zobrist double put the tying run in scoring position.
