Boston takes game while NY takes hits

BOSTON -- The New York Yankees got into another scuffle with fans on a testy night at Fenway Park. This time, Gary Sheffield was in the middle of it.\nSheffield was fielding Jason Varitek's two-run triple along the right-field fence in the eighth inning of Boston's 8-5 victory Thursday night when a fan swung a short uppercut in his direction, appearing to graze the side of the slugger's face with his right arm.\n"I just felt something hit me in the mouth," Sheffield said. "I don't know if he hit me or not, it felt like it. I thought my lip was busted."\nAfter Sheffield picked up the ball, he shoved the fan before throwing the ball back to the infield as two runs scored. Another fan's beer sprayed in Sheffield's direction.\nSheffield then whirled around with a cocked fist, shouting in the face of the first man -- but did not throw a punch. A security official quickly jumped over the three-foot wall to separate the two.\n"It could have been worse if I didn't hold my composure," Sheffield said. "I almost snapped, but the thing is I thought about the consequences."\nThe fan was ejected from the ballpark but not arrested.\n"It's just a baseball game," Sheffield said. "To get punched in the mouth, you don't expect that in a baseball game."\nDuring the 2003 American League playoffs, two Yankees players got into a brawl with a Red Sox groundskeeper in New York's bullpen.\nRelief pitcher Jeff Nelson and outfielder Karim Garcia were charged with assault but agreed to a deal last October that called for the charges against them to be dropped in six months.\nThe near-fight between Sheffield and the Boston fan Thursday night was the latest problem between fans and players at a sporting event.\nOn Nov. 19, players and fans exchanged punches in the stands near the end of a Pacers-Pistons game in one of the worst brawls in NBA history. The mayhem left several people injured and prompted a police investigation.\nLast September, the Texas Rangers got into a fight with fans in Oakland, and Rangers reliever Frank Francisco was arrested after throwing a chair into the stands that hit a woman and broke her nose.\nEdgar Renteria's RBI double in the eighth broke a 5-5 tie, and Boston took two of three from its rival to even the season series at three games apiece.\nRandy Johnson gave up three homers for only the 12th time in his career, and Red Sox manager Terry Francona and hitting coach Ron Jackson were ejected after questioning calls by plate umpire Greg Gibson.\nJohnson left with the score 5-5 after seven innings and Tom Gordon (0-1) fell behind before getting an out. Johnny Damon led off the eighth with a single and scored on a double by Renteria, who had made the last out for St. Louis in Boston's sweep of last year's World Series.\nAfter an intentional walk to David Ortiz, Varitek hit a ball down the right-field line that hugged the curved wall and led to all the trouble.\n"We have to give Sheffield a lot of credit," Damon said, "for him to restrain himself the way he did."\nVaritek's two-run triple gave the Red Sox an 8-5 lead.\nSheffield led off the ninth with a double off the Green Monster and the Yankees loaded the bases before Keith Foulke (1-1) ended the game by getting Ruben Sierra to foul out to catcher Varitek, who made a nice catch on a difficult play near the stands.\nRenteria, Jay Payton and Varitek all homered in the first four innings off Johnson. Hideki Matsui drove in three runs for the Yankees with a single and a double as the teams wrapped up a nine-game stretch in which they faced each other six times.\nThe last time Johnson allowed three homers was Aug. 15 against Atlanta.\nNew York took a 5-4 lead in a four-run fourth, when Bronson Arroyo issued three walks.\nOne of them led to the ejection of Jackson, who was upset after Gibson called a bases-loaded, 3-2 pitch to Sheffield a ball. Francona rushed out of the dugout to argue and Jackson, who followed, was restrained by several Boston coaches.\nMatsui followed with a two-run single and Alex Rodriguez put the Yankees ahead with an RBI single.\nVaritek's third homer of the season tied it in the fourth. But with two outs and a 2-1 count on Bill Mueller, a pitch that appeared to be low and inside was called a strike by Gibson. That brought Francona out of the dugout again and he also was ejected.\nFrancona returned to the team Monday from a four-game absence after undergoing tests for tightness in his chest that team physician Dr. Thomas Gill said probably was caused by a viral illness.