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BOSTON (AP) -- New York Yankees outfielder Gary Sheffield got into a brief scuffle with a Boston Red Sox fan during a game at Fenway Park, although the slugger restrained himself and never threw a punch.

Sheffield was fielding a ball in the eighth inning of the Red Sox�s 8-5 victory Thursday night when a fan swung a short uppercut in his direction, appearing to graze the side of the slugger�s face with his right arm.

�Something hit me in the mouth. It felt like a hand,� Sheffield said later. �I thought my lip was busted.�

After Sheffield picked up the ball, he shoved the fan before throwing the ball back into the infield. Then he whirled around with a cocked fist, but restrained himself and began shouting in the man�s face.

Sheffield did not throw a punch at the fan, and a security official quickly jumped in to separate the two.

The rivalry between the teams has erupted beyond the field�s fences before.

During the 2003 AL playoffs, two Yankees players got into a brawl with a Red Sox groundskeeper in New York�s bullpen. Jeff Nelson and Karim Garcia were charged with assault but agreed to a deal last October that called for the charges against them to be dropped in six months.