NEW YORK -- Yankees star Jorge Posada and Toronto reliever Jesse Carlson got into a fight near home plate, leading to a frenzied, bench-clearing brawl during the Blue Jays' 10-4 victory over New York on Tuesday night.
Toronto's Edwin Encarnacion and All-Star second baseman Aaron Hill were hit by pitches before Carlson threw behind Posada in the eighth. Posada glared out at the mound and appeared to say, "You don't want to do that."
Carlson motioned toward Posada as the benches and bullpens emptied, though the teams never got close to each other and order was quickly restored. Johnny Damon and manager Joe Girardi aggressively pulled teammates away, aware any suspensions could be costly to the Yankees as they close in on a playoff berth.
Moments later, a nasty rumble broke out.
After scoring on Brett Gardner's double, Posada brushed Carlson, who was on his way to back up the plate. Home plate umpire Jim Joyce promptly ejected Posada as Carlson shouted curses at the star catcher.
Posada spun around, sidestepped Joyce and came back at Carlson, who took a high swing with a punch that missed. The two wrestled to the ground as the benches and bullpens emptied and other scuffles broke out between home plate and the New York dugout.
Blue Jays catcher Rod Barajas and Yankees reserve Shelley Duncan got in a particularly rough scrap.
When things finally settled down, there was catching equipment strewn all over the field behind home plate. New York pitchers CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte escorted Posada into the dugout.
Carlson, also ejected, was left with a large red bump on the left side of his forehead.
The game was interrupted for about 10 minutes. When play resumed, there were only three umpires on the field. Third base ump and crew chief Derryl Cousins was missing -- it wasn't immediately clear if he got hurt during the fight.