Yankees, Blue Jays brawl in eighth at Yankee Stadium

NEW YORK — A sleepy end-of-game between the Yankees and Blue Jays became a bloody mess Tuesday night as an eighth-inning brawl featuring Jorge Posada and Toronto pitcher Jesse Carlson turned the area between home plate and the first-base dugout into a giant mosh pit.

After it was over, Carlson was bleeding from a cut on his forehead and Yankees manager Joe Girardi had a pin-sized scrape on his left ear. Carlson and Posada were ejected suspensions likely to follow — and the Blue Jays went on to a 10-4 win without further incident at Yankee Stadium.

The melee began after Posada scored on a double by Brett Gardner and made contact with Carlson after crossing home plate. The left-hander had thrown behind Posada earlier in the inning, missing him, in apparent retaliation for a pair of Blue Jays batters who were hit by pitches earlier in the game.

"As he ran past Carlson, he gave him a little shove with his elbow. It was very unsportsmanlike," plate umpire Jim Joyce told a pool reporter. "It was a cheap shot."

The game was interrupted for about 10 minutes. When play resumed, there were only three umpires on the field. Third-base umpire and crew chief Derryl Cousins was missing — it wasn't immediately clear if he got hurt during the fight.

Notes

• Daisuke Matsuzaka returned from the disabled list just in time to show the Boston Red Sox he can help them in the playoffs.

Matsuzaka returned from a three-month stint on the DL with six shutout innings on Tuesday night to lead the Red Sox to a 4-1 victory over the Angels, their likely first-round playoff opponent.

"We're in the middle of a playoff race, and we don't have a lot of leeway," said Matsuzaka, who hadn't pitched for Boston since June 19 and hadn't won since June 2. "I just want to do my best to contribute."

• Andy Pettitte and the New York Yankees hope a little rest now will go a long way toward a healthy October.

Pettitte's next turn in the Yankees' rotation will be skipped because the left-hander has a tired pitching shoulder. He was slated to start tonight against Toronto. Instead, Chad Gaudin will get the ball and Pettitte will be pushed back to Monday.

• Oft-injured Houston pitcher Mike Hampton, 37, is already out for next year. Hampton has undergone surgery for a torn left rotator cuff and other damage in his shoulder that will sideline him for 2010.

• The Detroit Tigers will honor Ernie Harwell at Comerica Park. The Detroit Free Press reports that Harwell will be honored tonight during a game against the Kansas City Royals. The 91-year-old recently announced he has inoperable cancer.

• Jake Peavy will start Saturday at home against Kansas City. It will be Peavy's first start for the White Sox since they acquired the right-hander from the San Diego.

• Detroit outfielder Magglio Ordonez has earned $18 million with a fifth-inning ground ball. The at-bat was Ordonez's 1,080th plate appearance since the start of the 2008 season, the number that he needed to automatically trigger his $18 million contract option for 2010.