And his teammates followed his lead. "It was

BOSTON - Alex Rodriguez responded to being hit by a pitch the best way he knows how — with a home run. And his teammates followed his lead. "It was awesome. I was pretty excited," Rodriguez said of the homer that started the Yankees go-ahead rally. "It was the ultimate payback." Rodriguez was hit by a fastball his first time up and then hit the 649th homer of his career to start a four-run sixth inning that carried New York to a 9-6 win over the Boston Red Sox on Sunday night. Yankees manager Joe Girardi was ejected after storming out of the dugout to holler at plate umpire Brian ONora, who warned both benches immediately after Rodriguez was plunked by Ryan Dempsters 3-0 pitch leading off the second inning. It struck his left elbow pad and ricocheted off his back. Girardi felt the incident sparked the Yankees. "Im sure it did," he said. "They rallied and responded." Rodriguez, who went 3 for 4 with two runs and two RBIs, was suspended recently for 211 games by Major League Baseball in the Biogenesis drug case. He appealed the penalty and can play until there is a final decision. "Whether you like me or hate me, whats wrong is wrong," he said of being hit. "That was unprofessional and silly." Under the collective bargaining agreement, Rodriguez has the right to appeal. "Whether I agree with everything thats going on, you do not throw at people and you dont take the law into your own hands," Girardi said. "You cant just start taking potshots because you disagree with the way the system is set up." Girardi and Rodriguez said Dempster threw at Rodriguez intentionally. And Girardi said Dempster should have been ejected and should be suspended. Rodriguez declined to comment on any punishment for the pitcher. "Im the wrong guy to be asking about suspensions," he said with a smile. Players streamed from the dugouts and benches, but no skirmishes developed in the latest testy game between the longtime rivals. The dustup seemed to spark the Yankees, who were trailing 2-0 at the time. Mariano Rivera earned his first save since blowing three chances in a row for the first time in his career. "Im sure any hitter that hits a home run the next time up after youve been hit, it feels good," said Dempster, who denied throwing at Rodriguez. "Its just reality. It was unfortunate because it started the inning off with a run." Bostons lead in the AL East was cut to one game over Tampa Bay. The game took 4 hours, 12 minutes. One Yankee drew loud cheers from the Fenway Park crowd. Rivera received a standing ovation as he ran in from the bullpen for the ninth. In his first appearance since last Sunday, he got his 36th save in 41 opportunities. With two runners on, Rivera retired Jarrod Saltalamacchia on a fly ball for the final out. CC Sabathia (11-10) got the win and the Yankees took two of three from the first-place Red Sox. Booed every time he came to bat — and even when he was on deck in the first — Rodriguez drew more jeers after he led off the sixth with a homer off Dempster (6-9) to cut the lead to 6-4. Brett Gardner soon followed with a three-run triple off Drake Britton. As Rodriguezs second homer of the year landed in the centre field bleachers, he clapped his hands and let out a shout at first base. Then he clapped again and pointed both hands skyward as he crossed home plate. He continued to the dugout where he was congratulated by teammates. The rally continued when the Yankees loaded the bases with one out on singles by Eduardo Nunez and Lyle Overbay and a walk to Chris Stewart before Gardner tripled. Rodriguez was one of four Yankees hit by pitches, but his was the only one that appeared to be intentional. On Rodriguezs first at bat, Dempster "pitched much like Ryan has done (in) many starts," said Boston manager John Farrell, who denied that Dempster was throwing at Rodriguez. "He established his fastball. There are hitters in the lineup and hes got to establish it in. We saw later on when he doesnt establish his fastball in. Rodriguez gets his arms extended and he drives the ball out to centre field." Dempsters first pitch went behind Rodriguezs knees as fans chanted "Youre a cheater!" The next two pitches were inside before the fourth pitch struck Rodriguez. He walked slowly to first base, accompanied by a trainer and staring at Dempster but not making a move toward the mound. In 12 games since his season debut after recovering from hip and quadriceps problems, Rodriguez is batting .319 with two homers and six RBIs. Boston had taken a 2-0 lead in the first on a sacrifice fly by Jonny Gomes and an RBI single by Saltalamacchia. New York tied it in the second when Rodriguez was hit, took third on a double by Curtis Granderson and scored on a single by Nunez. Overbay followed with a sacrifice fly. Rodriguezs run-scoring groundout gave the Yankees a 3-2 lead in the third before the Red Sox tied it in the bottom of the inning on an RBI groundout by David Ortiz. The Red Sox took a 5-3 lead in the fourth on Stephen Drews sacrifice fly and Will Middlebrooks 10th homer. A bases-loaded walk to Daniel Nava boosted the lead to 6-3 in the fifth. After the four-run sixth, the Yankees added RBI singles by Mark Reynolds in the seventh and Stewart in the ninth. "Today kind of brought us together," Rodriguez said. "Joes reaction was amazing. Every single one of my teammates came up to me and said hit a (homer)." NOTES: New Yorks Alfonso Soriano went 0 for 6 after batting .682 with five homers and 18 RBIs in his previous five games. ... Yankees SS Nunez left the game in the sixth with a tight right hamstring. ... Boston 1B Mike Napoli missed his second straight game with plantar fasciitis in his left foot. ... Yankees SS Derek Jeter (strained right calf) increased his movement in fielding drills on Sunday, including some spin moves on grounders up the middle, during his third day of workouts at the teams complex in Tampa, Fla. Jeter took batting practice, but isnt running the bases. Girardi said Jeter wont be ready to return for Tuesdays doubleheader against Toronto. ... Dempster is 0-6 with a 7.57 ERA against the Yankees in his career. NMD Canada Sale .Y. - Jerome Samson scored once in regulation and again in the shootout as the St. Ultra Boost Uncaged Canada .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. http://www.nmdshoescanada.com/ . Following a lopsided 5-2 loss against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night, Paul MacLean told reporters that "theres a lack of focus, theres a lack of leadership and theres a lack of preparation" with his struggling team. That came on the heels of Bryan Murray taking the unusual step of going into the locker room at the Prudential Center and addressing the players himself. Cheap NMDs Canada . Now that hes hitting streaking teammates with pin-point passes for easy layups, Love is asserting himself as one of the true superstars in the league. NMD Restock Canada . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Rhode Island has reached a $25.6 million settlement with two of the financial backers it sued over a disastrous deal with former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schillings 38 Studios video game company.The states Commerce Corp. announced Tuesday that it has agreed to the proposed settlement with Wells Fargo Securities and Barclays Capital Inc.The settlement was filed Tuesday in Rhode Island Superior Court and is contingent on the courts approval.The company founded by Schilling moved from Massachusetts to Rhode Island in 2010 after the states economic development agency agreed to give it a $75 million loan guarantee. The deal was financed through bonds offered to investors. Less than two years later, 38 Studios ran out of money and filed for bankruptcy.The state says its still in litigation with First Southwest Co. and Schilling.The new settlement brings to $42 million the amount the state has recovered from parties involved in the deal.This really and truly is a hard-won victory for all the parties, particularly the taxpayers of the state of Rhode Island, said retired Superior Court Judge Francis Darigan, Jr., who was called in as a mediator to help broker the settlement.Darigan told reporters Tuesday that negotiations are ongoing with the other parties and he is hopeful they can agree to a settlement before a trial scheduled for October. But he described Wells Fargo and Barclays as the biggest players and said hes doubtful the state will be able to recover ffrom the remaining parties the nearly $40 million it says its still owed.ddddddddddddhat might be a stretch, Darigan said. Im hoping that we can make a significant contribution towards that, but I dont want to mislead anybody to think that the state is going to recover every nickel.Wells Fargo said in a statement that its pleased to have reached an agreemcr did we do anything improper, spokesman Gabriel Boehmer said in a statement. It is simply in our shareholders best interest to minimize the risk that accompanies lengthy litigation.The states top law enforcement officials announced last month that there would be no criminal charges following a yearslong investigation into the people and organizations involved in the 38 Studios deal. But the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is still pursuing a lawsuit against Wells Fargo and Rhode Islands economic development agency, which accuses them of making materially misleading statements about the bonds used to fund the deal.Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo said in a statement Tuesday that the settlement is a big step in recovering taxpayer money lost to a bad deal.Rhode Islanders understandably feel hurt by this deal -- and I do too -- but I want everyone to know that we are demanding accountability, getting money back, and moving the state forward, she said. ' ' '