Major League Baseball

MLB sends 'heads-up' for Red Sox-Yankees rematch

Published Sep. 6, 2013 12:19 a.m. ET

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Major League Baseball has sent a ''heads-up'' notice to the umpires working the series between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, reminding the crew that the teams had a dustup the last time they played.

The Red Sox visited Yankee Stadium on Thursday night in their first game since Boston's Ryan Dempster hit Alex Rodriguez with a pitch on Aug. 18. That caused the teams to tussle at Fenway Park, and Dempster was suspended for five games.

Umpire crew chief Joe West says it's been standard protocol for MLB for a decade or so to give advance notice to crews when clubs are meeting for the first time since having trouble. West said the umpires were recently sent an email advising them that there was a ''heads-up'' for this series.

''It's good that they let the crews know, not just for this series but for anytime there have been problems,'' he said. ''All of the umpires are aware there was a throwing incident involving the Red Sox and Yankees.''

Asked whether he would issue a warning to both teams prior to the first pitch, West said: ''Everyone is aware of what happened.''

Boston manager John Farrell said he didn't think there would be any retaliation for Dempster's pitch during the four-game series. He said he hadn't heard anything from MLB regarding the previous ruckus.

The Red Sox have the best record in the AL and the Yankees, surging since Dempster drilled A-Rod, are chasing a wild-card spot.

''Sometimes incidents like that can change things,'' Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. ''I'm not saying it did.''

Jake Peavy started for Boston against Ivan Nova of the Yankees. Alex Rodriguez was in the starting lineup for New York

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