A.J. Pierzynski hit an RBI triple in the bottom of the 10th inning and the Boston Red Sox — on their fourth manager of the night following a string of ejections — beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 Friday in the latest testy game between the teams on a wild evening at Fenway Park.
Jonny Gomes fittingly reached base by being hit by a pitch, a common theme that led to one bench-clearing scrum and nearly as many ejections as runs scored.
Juan Carlos Oviedo (1-2) plunked Gomes with one out in the 10th and Pierzynski followed with a drive to the triangle in right-center, where the ball landed between Wil Myers and Desmond Jennings.
The Red Sox rushed out of the dugout — for once not to possibly fight their AL East rivals — and celebrated their fifth straight win following a 10-game skid.