Teixeira wins showdown with Padilla by using his bat

It was a highly anticipated scenario when Mark Teixeira came to bat against Vicente Padilla at Yankee Stadium Saturday night.  Besides being in a close Red Sox-Yankees game, it was the first time the two players faced each since Teixeira went public with his contempt for the Boston pitcher's habit of throwing at batters and Padilla returned fire by telling the New York slugger to "go play a women's sport."


At this showdown, Teixeira did all of his talking with his bat and crushed an eighth-inning, two-run homer over the left field fence to tie the game at six after the Yankees had scratched back from being down 6-1.

After Tex admired his long ball for a second, he rounded the bases to rousing cheers and never even looked at his nemesis on the mound.

The mongoose vs. cobra relationship between the two players came to a head on July 7 after Teixeira hit a game-winning triple in Fenway Park after being knocked down by Padilla for the third time his his career.  After the game, the Yankees first baseman told reporters," [Padilla] would have been suspended if he was in the NFL."

Yankees manager, Joe Girardi,  even entertained thoughts of benching Teixeira to prevent a beaning if the Boston hurler was on the mound and Tex was on the on-deck circle.

Teixeira's third career homer against Padilla might have won the war-of-words battle but the Red Sox tapped Yankees closer Rafael Soriano for two runs in the ninth—after Curtis Granderson's slip— for an 8-6 victory in the rain-delayed game to win the war.

The two teams play the rubber match of the three game series Sunday.