Bats And Brawls: Sox Put Up Ten Again, Ortiz And Gregg Exchange Punches

So that happened.

First, the baseball game itself:

The Red Sox put up ten runs on the Orioles, including eight in the first inning en route to a 10-3 bludgeoning of the Orioles--their fourth straight win.

Zach Britton was entirely ineffectual, allowing seven straight baserunners to reach (with a couple of questionable defensive plays along the way) after Jacoby Ellsbury hit a hard drive to center field that could have been a triple were it not for Adam Jones making the running grab.

Included in the outburst was a three-run shot from David Ortiz, possibly contributing to his being the target for later events.

When all was said and done, Britton was gone, the Sox had eight runs, and for all intents and purposes the game was over. The Orioles picked up a few off Josh Beckett as the rain-soaked Fenway seemed to throw him off, but the Sox answered back with two more thanks to a homer from Dustin Pedroia and a triple from Josh Reddick.

Now to the injury fun:

Remember that rain-soaked fifth? Well, when Beckett came down after one of his pitches, he tweaked his knee. He stayed in to pitch the rest of the frame, but was diagnosed with a mildly hyperextended knee. A minor injury, but still of some concern.

And finally, the fight:

At 4-for-8 with a double, two homers, and a pair of walks, David Ortiz has done some terrible things to the Orioles this series. So it's not entirely surprising that Kevin Gregg decided to come in a bit on him in the eighth for the first three pitches of his at-bat, earning some choice words from Papi. On the fourth, David Ortiz flew out to center, but as he was heading to first, Gregg started shouting at Ortiz, and was thrown out of the game. Only Ortiz wasn't satisfied with that, and came charging for Gregg. As punches flew, the benches emptied. Ortiz got some decent shots in, but the real question now is what sort of repercussions he'll face for the fracas.