Benches Clear in Angels' Win Over Red Sox

It didn't take long for things to heat up between the Angels and Red Sox on Sunday. After a series that began with both teams respectfully mourning the passing of Nick Adenhart, it ended with the two teams in a heated battle on Sunday. And it all began in the bottom of the first inning.

Boston's Josh Beckett was on the mound, and Bobby Abreu was batting for the Angels. With Chone Figgins on second and one out, Beckett took his time holding the runner to the bag with his stare. It was too long for Abreu, who -- as is common in these situations -- called and was granted time out. The problem is, Beckett either didn't see it in time or didn't care, and even though his catcher was set up for a pitch low and outside, Beckett threw a fastball high and inside -- and just missed drilling Abreu in the head.

Abreu held his arms out as if to motion "what the [heck]?" in Beckett's direction, but instead of apologizing, Beckett angrily walked towards home plate and started running his mouth.

That's when the benches emptied.

When it was all said and done, Torii Hunter, Justin Speier, Mike Scioscia, and one of his coaches were the only ones ejected -- all Angels, in case you hadn't noticed. The head umpire didn't see any reason to eject Beckett, as he told a pool reporter afterwards.

"Did he throw it up and in? Yeah. Do we believe he threw it at Abreu? No. Would we have warned him had both benches not emptied? Probably not. But because both benches emptied, we did issue a warning."

Some might assume that the Angels just let their emotions get the best of them after a grueling few days, but Torii Hunter said that the actions of Beckett were to blame, and not the recent tragedy that was experienced by his team.

"Don't use Nick, man," said Hunter. "Yeah, we had a tragic week. And a rough week. But ... that was blatant. What happened right there, you saw it."

Speier also explained how egregious Beckett's actions were, pointing out that Beckett did a lot more than one thing wrong in throwing at Abreu's head.

"Here's a guy who obviously made a big mistake and threw at Abreu's head. And then he has the gall to charge Abreu and start talking smack? And then start talking smack to our manager? He made like three mistakes there."

The Angels got their revenge, as they ultimately came away with the victory behind Abreu's two-RBI single in the third. But at the end of an emotional weekend, the play by Beckett is something that isn't likely to be forgotten anytime soon, and will certainly be a factor the next time these two teams see each other.