NEW YORK — As soon as Jorge Posada bumped Toronto reliever Jesse Carlson after crossing home plate, almost everyone at Yankee Stadium knew a fight was coming.

Posada and Carlson got into a scrap near the New York dugout, leading to a frenzied, bench-clearing brawl during the Blue Jays' 10-4 victory over the Yankees last night.

"It got pretty heavy and pretty thick pretty quickly," New York slugger Alex Rodriguez said. "I think we're all fortunate and glad no one got hurt."

Toronto's Edwin Encarnacion and All-Star second baseman Aaron Hill were hit by pitches before Carlson threw behind Posada in the eighth inning. 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. Plate umpire Jim Joyce warned both benches.

But moments later, a nasty rumble broke out.

After scoring on Brett Gardner's double, Posada jostled Carlson, who was on his way to back up the plate. Joyce promptly ejected Posada as Carlson shouted curses at the star catcher.

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

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 near home plate.

RED SOX 4, ANGELES 1: Daisuke Matsuzaka (2-5) returned from a three-month stint on the disabled list and spaced three hits over six shutout innings and David Ortiz hit his record-breaking 270th homer as a designated hitter to lead host Boston over Los Angeles.

Athletics 6, Rangers 1: Rajai Davis scored the first run then matched a career best with four RBIs to help visiting Oakland drop Texas 5 1/2 games behind AL wild-card leader Boston with only 18 games left.

Twins 5, Indians 4: Nick Punto had three hits and two RBIs, and Jon Rauch (3-1) pitched 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief as host Minnesota beat Cleveland and closed to 4 1/2 games of AL Central-leading Detroit.

Orioles 10, Rays 5: Rookie Matt Wieters homered and had a career-high five RBIs, Luke Scott also connected, and host Baltimore rallied from a third-inning, five-run deficit to beat rookie Jeff Niemann (12-6) and Tampa Bay.

Royals 11, Tigers 1: Alberto Callaspo, David DeJesus and Miguel Olivo all hit three-run homers, and Robinson Tejada (3-1) allowed one run and two hits in five innings as visiting Kansas City beat Detroit for the fifth straight time.

White Sox 6, Mariners 3: A.J. Pierzynski hit a two-run, go-ahead single in the seventh inning as visiting Chicago beat Seattle. Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 626th career homer — 15th this season — for the Mariners.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Phillies 5, Nationals 0: Cliff Lee (7-2) threw a six-hitter, Carlos Ruiz hit a three-run double and host Philadelphia beat Washington to reduce its magic number for clinching its third consecutive NL East division title to 12 with 19 games left.

Giants 10, Rockies 2: Barry Zito (10-12) gave up two runs and five hits with a season-high nine strikeouts, and Juan Uribe drove in three runs to help host San Francisco close to 2 1/2 games of the wild-card leading Colorado, which dropped its fourth straight.

Braves 6, Mets 0: Adam LaRoche had four hits, including a pair of solo homers, and drove in three runs, and rookie Tommy Hanson (10-3) spaced three hits over seven innings as host Atlanta won its fifth straight.

Marlins 2, Cardinals 1: Rookie Sean West (7-5) gave up one run and six hits over six innings with a season-high nine strikeouts, and Dan Uggla hit a two-run homer in the sixth off Adam Wainwright (18-8) to lift visiting Florida over St. Louis.

Reds 5, Astros 4: Paul Janish doubled home pinch-runner Bronson Arroyo from second base with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning to break a 4-all tie as Cincinnati handed Houston its third consecutive loss.

Diamondbacks 4, Padres 2: Mark Reynolds hit his 42nd homer of the season, a two-run shot in the top of the ninth inning off closer Heath Bell, as Arizona beat San Diego for its second straight win after losing nine of its previous 10.

Cubs 13, Brewers 7: Geovany Soto homered and drove in three runs, Derrek Lee hit a two-run double and drove in three runs, and host Chicago took advantage of 12 walks to beat Milwaukee for its seventh win in eight games.

Dodgers 5, Pirates 4: Andre Ethier hit a two-run homer with one out in the bottom of the 13th inning — his major league-leading sixth walkoff hit of the season — as Los Angeles beat Pittsburgh.