David Ortiz goes berserk after strike three call against Yankees (VIDEO)

If there is any spark left in the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry, it basically all comes down to one player still linking the bitter hatred between the two teams to the past.

And on Friday night, David Ortiz brought that blaze back to the Bronx.

Ortiz began chirping after Andrew Miller got a called strike two from home-plate umpire Ron Kulpa on a 3-1 count with one out and the bases loaded in the ninth inning — a slider that prompted Sox manager John Farrell to run out, hold Ortiz off and get ejected.

Then Ortiz took another slider for a called strike three before walking toward the dugout, then returning, and unleashing his full fury at the ump.

DAVID ORTIZ IS PISSED https://t.co/OStZOsWqeF

— Tyler Sullivan (@TylerSully) May 7, 2016

Big Papi needed to be restrained before Miller struck out Hanley Ramirez swinging for the final out of a 3-2 win Friday night at Yankee Stadium.

“One I can understand, one time. But not two,” Ortiz said after his explosion. “Both of them pitches were bad, though. (Kulpa’s) looking at me like I screwed up. I didn’t screw up. Know what I’m saying?

“Everything was a ball,” added Ortiz, who said Miller doesn’t need any help. “Even the one I swung at was a ball.”

It wasn't exactly the Core Four years, but something tells me Miller would have fit in pretty good back on those old Yankees teams — at least as Mariano Rivera's set-up guy.

CC Sabathia explains four-letter message to David Ortiz after strikeout (VIDEO)

There was a tense moment between the Red Sox and Yankees Thursday night after CC Sabathia loaded the bases and had to face his old nemesis Boston slugger David Ortiz during the fifth-inning of a 1-1 game.

Not 2004 Red Sox-Yankees tension mind you, but intriguing still the same.

And after his inning-ending strikeout of Ortiz, just about everybody could read Sabathia's lips after he flexed, did a little jig and yelled at Ortiz: "Get the f**k out of here!" 

It would be quite a boost for the Yankees if they could get this CC Sabathia back. pic.twitter.com/Uu4p2JDFUh

— Yankeesource (@YankeeSource) August 7, 2015

After the Yankees' 2-1 victory, Sabathia, for his part, said it wasn't personal. The 35-year-old righty, who has been tentative on the mound, said he was more pumped up Thursday than he'd been in a while.

"Obviously I was a little fired up and I think that little passion can be an issue," he said. "It's a fine line with me, so I'm going to have to be careful. But it worked for me tonight."

At least Big Papi took the celebration in stride:

Ortiz didn't mind Sabathia screaming: "When I go deep, I put on my show, too."

— Brian MacPherson (@brianmacp) August 7, 2015

These days you take whatever fireworks in the old rivalry you can get.

Pedro Martinez still holds grudge against Jorge Posada for insulting his mother and starting famous brawl: Report

The old Red Sox-Yankees rivalry has lost some of its edge over the last few years but whenever you mention Pedro Martinez, it seems like the bad blood is still at full boil.

On Wednesday, Martinez — the newly elected Hall of Famer — admitted that the one Yankee whom he despised most was Jorge Posada.

And it was personal.

Martinez, appearing on Daily News Live, made it clear that he still holds a grudge against Posada, claiming the ex-Yankee catcher carried their running feud too far at one point by insulting the Red Sox pitcher’s mother and instigating the famous brawl when he infamously decked Yankees coach Don Zimmer (video at bottom).

“Between Latinos you don’t mention anybody’s mother,” Pedro said. “And I never forgot that one. To this day.”

Martinez was on the TV show with fellow newly elected Hall of Famers John Smoltz, Randy Johnson and Craig Biggio when he made the revelation.

When host Jonas Schwartz asked why, Martinez said, “Because Jorge always seemed to have a bad attitude toward me.”

And, under further questioning, Pedro admitted to making fun of Posada’s ears at times, saying:

“I call him Dumbo, but that’s no reason for him to want to kill me.”

Martinez wasn’t clear if Posada’s insult helped ignite the brawl or the remark was delivered after Zimmer had charged Pedro and wound up on the ground.

"It was just competing," Martinez said of Posada. "But he was always mad at me for some reason.

“Then he let it go a little bit too far with the Zimmer incident. Between Latinos you don’t mention anybody’s mother. I did not appreciate that. I know it was in the heat of the situation, but that’s sensitive to Latino players."

And it was the mother of all brawls.