Fighting Indians Scalp Red Sox

There's still some bad blood between the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians.

Wil Cordero's two-run homer in the sixth inning Friday night lifted the Cleveland Indians to a 7-6 victory against the Boston Red Sox in a game that was interrupted by two brawls.

Kenny Lofton and Travis Fryman also homered for the Indians, who won for the 12th time in their last 14 games.

The Indians trailed 6-5 in the sixth when Boston reliever Rheal Cormier hit Jim Thome in retaliation with a pitch in the ribs, setting off the second brawl of the game.

"I think it was a combination of a grudge and this team (the Red Sox) going through a tough time," Cleveland manager Mike Hargrove said. "You hate to see things like this happen because you risk guys getting hurt."

Benches and bullpens cleared and a wild melee ensued, with Boston catcher Jason Varitek tackling David Justice. Both Thome and Cormier were ejected.

"I was trying to send them a message but I wasn't trying to hit anyone," Cormier said. "The ball got away from me and just ran in on him."

Jim Corsi (0-1) came on to pitch and gave up Cordero's second homer of the year to make it 7-6.

The Red Sox, who lost for the eighth time in 11 games, scored five runs in the fifth inning, equaling their total from their previous five games to take a 6-5 lead.

"We haven't been able to score many runs lately," Boston manager Jimy Williams said. "Maybe this is the spark we need. Sparks can be contagious too."

Troy O'Leary led off the inning with his fifth homer. Cleveland starter Jaret Wright then walked Damon Buford and gave up a single to Jason Varitek. Wright set off the first brawl by hitting Darren Lewis in the right shoulder to load the bases.

"He (Wright) has a reputation for doing that. He did it to me in the playoffs last year and you don't forgt what happens on the field," Lewis said.

"Certain people feel they can intimidate you but that doesn't intimidate me. It's uncalled for to throw the ball at someone's head. If he were in the National League he'd have to go up and bat and if he did that someone would stick one in his ear."

After being hit, Lewis stood at home plate and shouted at Wright who challenged Lewis. Both benches and bullpens cleared and Lewis and Wright were ejected after punches were thrown.

Wright previously hit Lewis in the head in Game 1 of last year's division series, which Cleveland won 3-1. Both players were ejected.

"I'm never throwing at a guy's head," Wright said. "I threw a pitch off the plate. I guess he thought it was a fastball. He said something, I said something and you saw what happened."

Steve Karsay (2-1) came on after Wright and Lewis were ejected. He allowed Jose Offerman's sacrifice fly, a two-run double by Nomar Garciaparra and an RBI double by Reggie Jeferson.

"We spoke for ourselves tonight," Williams said. "We came back after being down five runs."

Mike Jackson pitched a perfect ninth for his third save.

Lofton led off the game with a homer off Rapp, his first of the year and 12th leadoff homer in his career.

Rapp was pulled in the third inning after giving up a two-run single to Roberto Alomar and a two-run homer to Fryman as the Indians jump out to a 5-0 lead. Rapp gave up five runs and seven hits in 3 1-3 innings.

Boston scored its first run in 17 innings on Reggie Jefferson's RBI groundout in the fourth to make it 5-1.

Wright allowed five runs and four hits in four innings.

Notes: Dennis Eckersley was the color commentator for the Red Sox on their radio broadcast as regular commentator Joe Castiglione was attending his son's wedding. ... Boston has nine home runs in their first 16 games compared to 18 in their first 15 games in 1998. ... The Indians are 8-1 when they score first. ... Omar Vizquel has four errors in 10 games this year, and five in his past 151. ... Cleveland was 1-5 at Fenway in 1998 in the regular season but won both playoff games in Boston.

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