ST. LOUIS, April 20 (UPI) -- Miguel Batista instigated a brawl by hitting Tino Martinez with a pitch Sunday, after which three Arizona relievers completed a shutout as the Diamondbacks escaped with a 1-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.
The contest was overshadowed by an incident involving Batista and Martinez in the fifth inning that caused more bad blood than the two playoff series the teams have played over the last two seasons.
After Batista hit Martinez with a pitch in the bottom of the fifth inning, the Cardinals first baseman glared at Batista as he walked to first base. Martinez was forced at second on a fielder's choice by J.D. Drew and exchanged words with Batista, who stepped off the mound.
Martinez charged Batista, who threw the ball past Martinez as both benches emptied. Batista and Martinez were ejected and warnings were issued to both dugouts.
With two outs and none on in the ninth inning, Cardinals reliever Jeff Fassero hit Luis Gonzalez with a pitch, prompting the ejections of Fassero and Cardinals Manager Tony La Russa.
In the bottom of the ninth, Diamondbacks closer Matt Mantei was not ejected after hitting Drew in the wrist with runners on second and third and two out. Mantei struck out Mike Matheny to end the game and record his second save.
The Diamondbacks scored the game's only run in the fifth. Craig Counsell led off with a double off starter Brett Tomko (1-2) and took third on a sacrifice by Quinton McCracken. After Gonzalez walked, David Dellucci delivered an RBI double.
After Batista worked 4 1/3 innings, rookie Oscar Villareal (1-0) pitched 2 2/3 innings for his first major league win.
