St. Petersburg, Fla. ? Beanballs and brush backs have become common when the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Devil Rays meet.

Jay Payton hit a grand slam, and Manny Ramirez homered one pitch after nearly being plunked as the Red Sox avoided a three-game sweep with an ejection-filled, 11-3 victory over the Devil Rays on Sunday.

There were six ejections in the seventh inning following a sequence of inside pitches and two bench-clearing scuffles. Tampa Bay manager Lou Piniella and Devil Rays’ pitchers Lance Carter and Dewon Brazelton were thrown out, along with Boston manager Terry Francona, starting pitcher Bronson Arroyo and outfielder Trot Nixon.

Carter threw a high-and-tight pitch to Ramirez with one out in the seventh, one inning after Arroyo hit Aubrey Huff with a pitch. Huff, who is 7-for-10 against Arroyo, thought he was thrown at intentionally.

But Huff doesn’t see a feud between the teams.

“That’s Yankees-Red Sox,” Huff said. “We’re the last team on their minds.”

Francona left the dugout to talk with plate umpire Ted Barrett after Carter’s pitch, but after no action was taken by the umpires, Ramirez put Boston up 5-2 with a solo homer on the next pitch.

Carter threw a 1-2 pitch near the head of the next batter, David Ortiz. The Boston designated hitter took a couple of steps toward the mound and was restrained by Tampa Bay catcher Toby Hall and Barrett.

“They might have gotten away, they might have not,” Piniella said of Carter’s inside pitches. “If they’re going to hit our hitters, we certainly can do the same. We’re not going to be intimidated whether you’re a world championship ball club or not. I know that we’re going to protect our hitters, I can tell you that.”

Carter left without talking to reporters.

Tampa Bay catcher Toby Hall, right, attempts to hold back Boston's David Ortiz after a pitch thrown by Lance Carter sailed over Ortiz's head during the seventh inning. Tempers flared during Boston's 11-3 victory Sunday in St. Petersburg, Fla.

“That ball almost hit me in the head,” Ortiz said. “That’s dangerous. I think they need to stop the hitting thing.”

Both dugouts and bullpens emptied, with pushing and shoving taking place around the mound. Piniella, Carter, Nixon and Brazelton were all thrown out following that incident, which delayed the game nine minutes.

“Nixon and Brazelton were escalating the situation,” umpire crew chief Rick Reed said. “In fact, Nixon was asked a couple of times to leave the area. He continued to make aggressive comments. Brazelton was out of control also.”

Nixon said someone poked him in the eye, which made him “furious.” He wouldn’t identify which player it was.

“If I wanted to be an idiot, it could have been worse,” Nixon said.

Yankees 11, Rangers 1

New York — Randy Johnson pitched eight dominant innings, Derek Jeter and Andy Phillips each homered and doubled, and the Yankees avoided a three-game sweep. Phillips hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning and drove in four runs, and Jeter finished a triple shy of the cycle and had three RBIs. A Yankees offense that mustered just 12 hits and five runs in two losses to Texas amassed 14 hits.

Orioles 7, Blue Jays 1

Toronto — Sammy Sosa homered twice, Sidney Ponson came within one out of a shutout, and the Orioles completed a three-game sweep. Sosa connected off Roy Halladay (3-1) in the fifth inning and Justin Speier in the ninth, his first multihomer game with Baltimore and the 67th of his career, tying him for third all-time with Mark McGwire. Only Barry Bonds (68) and Babe Ruth (72) have more.

Mariners 9, Indians 1

Seattle — Jamie Moyer became the AL’s first four-game winner and tied Randy Johnson’s franchise record for victories. Miguel Olivo hit a three-run double for the Mariners, who snapped a three-game skid. Moyer (4-0), who joined Seattle in 1996, has won 130 games in a Mariners uniform. Johnson posted his total from 1989-98.

Angels 1, Athletics 0

Anaheim, Calif. — Kelvim Escobar returned from an elbow injury in top form, and Steve Finley homered in the seventh inning to lead Los Angeles over Oakland. Scot Shields (3-1) got the win, allowing one hit in 12/3 innings. Francisco Rodriguez got four outs for his fourth save in five attempts, two nights after blowing a save on Scott Hatteberg’s go-ahead single with two outs in the ninth.

Twins-Tigers, ppd

Detroit — Minnesota’s overworked bullpen got a couple of days off, and the Twins’ starters never had to throw a single pitch. Minnesota and the Detroit Tigers were snowed out for the second straight day, an unexpected but welcome respite for the Twins’ trio of star relievers. The teams are scheduled to play this afternoon to make up for Saturday’s postponement, with Minnesota’s Brad Radke going against Detroit’s Jason Johnson. A makeup date for Sunday’s game was not immediately known.