In the top of the ninth inning, with two outs, RP Franklin Morales threw two pitches that nearly hit DH Luke Scott and a third that did indeed peg the lefty slugger in the knee. That prompted some words from Scott, who edged towards the mound with his bat in hand.

The net result was this:

And the dugouts clear...Scott gets struck by Morales and it's on! #redsox #rays #itzyaboyscottyb #MLB twitter.com/im_ScottyB/sta…

— Scotty B (@im_ScottyB) May 26, 2012

Though no players were tossed from the game and no punches were thrown, the field did become a battleground of words as players and even coaches pressed together for an unpleasant conference of rivals.

RP Fernando Rodney (S, 15) came in for the bottom of the ninth, and despite some wildness, he notched the save in a 1-2-3 fashion. SP Alex Cobb (W, 2-0) got the win despite walking 4 and striking out only 2, while SP Jon Lester (L, 3-4) earned the loss after allowing 7 ER through just 4.0 innings of work.

LF Matt Joyce (with a grand slam), SS Elliot Johnson and 1B Carlos Pena all homered for the Rays. Pena's homer marks his second such dinger since moving to the Rays' leadoff spot. He also doubled on Wednesday, giving him a weighted on base average above .500 since Wednesday.

Read more about the Rays at DRaysBay and for more on the Red Sox, check out Over The Monster. Go to Baseball Nation for additional news and notes around the league.