Top 3 bench clearing brawls in Red Sox history

The Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays got into their second bench clearing brawl in the last week on Friday. 

David Ortiz, who's no stranger to extracurriculars, didn't appreciate Rays left-hander David Price hitting him with a pitch, prompting Ortiz to call Price "a little bitch" following the game. 

The Red Sox are no stranger to bench clearing brawls in recent years, as this Top 3 list reveals:

3. July 7, 2011 - David Ortiz vs. Kevin Gregg

"Ortiz is going out and it's time to fight"

Ortiz didn't bother running out a fly ball to center field - opting instead to take the fastest route to Baltimore Orioles reliever Kevin Gregg: 

With Boston leading by seven in the eighth inning, Ortiz - nearly hit by the previous pitch - lofted a lazy fly ball. Gregg motioned to Ortiz to run the play out, and the big slugger took exception - leading to a confrontation that saw the 6-foot-6, 245-pound Gregg and 6-foot-4, 230-pound Ortiz exchange half-hearted haymakers.

"After I hit the fly ball, he started screaming at me," Ortiz told ESPN. "I ain't gonna take that like a little b----, you know what I'm saying? Everybody's a grown[up] man here, and you gotta be aware of the situation."

Both players received a four-game suspension and were fined a reported $2,500. 

2. August 8, 2009 - Kevin Youkilis vs. Rick Porcello

"Fight's on at Fenway"

Not able to get to the mound fast enough, Red Sox third baseman Kevin Youkilis decided to throw his helmet at Detroit Tigers pitcher Rick Porcello after the right-hander plunked him between the numbers. 

Porcello backed away, not wanting anything to do with Youkilis and his charging goatee before throwing him down on the ground. 

Youkilis earned a five-game suspension for his actions but didn't appear too apologetic for his actions. 

"I don't have any regrets," he told ESPN. "There comes a point in your life when you can only take so much. When people don't do things in the right manner, you get kind of fed up with it and you have to do what you have to do in life to protect yourself. I take one ball off the eye, my career could be over."

1. July 24, 2004 - Jason Varitek vs. Alex Rodriguez

"It's going to take forever to get this thing straightened out"

With the wound of Aaron Boone's extra-inning home run that ended the Red Sox season in 2003 still fresh, the rivalry between Boston and New York reached its tipping point on a late-July Saturday at Fenway Park. 

After Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez issued some choice words to Red Sox pitcher Bronson Arroyo following a hit-by-pitch, catcher and team captain Jason Varitek stepped between the two and the fun began. 

"I was on my way to first base and I got punched in the mouth by a glove," Rodriguez told the Associated Press.

A-Rod and Varitek were both suspended for four games and fined $2,000, while Yankees pitcher Tanyon Sturtze and Red Sox outfielders Gabe Kapler and Trot Nixon were handed three games and $1,000 fines. 

Honourable Mention: July 18, 2003 - Pedro Martinez vs. Don Zimmer

"Oh my goodness. Don Zimmer and Pedro Martinez, ugh. That's awful"