NEW YORK – Let’s face it. This New York-Boston rivalry had gone stale.

You could see it with the lack of enthusiasm for the game. Media row was thinner than normal. There was little pregame buzz. This rivalry needed a slap in the face to get the juices flowing again.

And you know what? It might have taken until the ninth inning on Friday night, but then, almost on demand, David Ortiz, manager John Farrell and home plate umpire Ron Kulpa came through at Yankee Stadium.

There was vitriol. There were ejections. There was emotion. There was bad blood.

Playing his final season, Ortiz will never be accused of mailing it in. He was into it.

With the bases loaded, one out and the Red Sox down, 3-2,, Ortiz felt Kulpa robbed him the entire at-bat, especially a 3-and-1 pitch that Yankees catcher Brian McCann awkwardly caught, almost swiping down on the ball. That created the appearance of a ball low and out of the strike zone that was called a strike by Kulpa.

The replay showed a slider by Andrew Miller that broke across the plate, but the ball was caught well outside the strike zone. Then Ortiz took a called third strike on a pitch low in the strike zone that Farrell said, “you’d need a hockey stick to hit the 3-2 pitch.’’

Ortiz went ballistic at Kulpa. He had to be separated twice, once by on-deck hitter Hanley Ramirez, and then Farrell, who went out and got himself ejected. Ortiz went back to the dugout, only to re-emerge again shouting at Kulpa at the top of his lungs.

Farrell was tossed, and he in turn made the gesture to toss Kulpa. The manager stayed in the dugout rather than depart to the clubhouse, as is required when you’ve been ejected. Farrell continued to shout at the umpire.

Farrell, who later admitted the umpires told him to exit, likely will be fined and possibly face punishment for not leaving the dugout.

Miller also was upset over a couple of calls in the Ortiz at-bat, including a check-swing that the lanky lefthander believed Ortiz had gone around on.

Ah yes, Red Sox-Yankees.

New York played as if it were life and death. And perhaps it was. The Yankees were sinking badly. They trailed, 2-0, on Ortiz’s two-run homer in the first inning, but managed to tie the game, 2-2, and sent into it into the late innings with a little bit of drama attached until Aaron Hicks homered for the first time as a Yankee for a New York 3-2 lead in the seventh.

“Bad thing about it is the whole world watches this game,’’ Ortiz said. “The umpire was having a hard time in the game earlier. That’s a situation where the game is on the line. Got to focus better.

“Look have you seen Miller’s numbers? He don’t need no help. That’s all I can tell you. Just because an umpire has a wide zone, I’m not going to get out of my game. I’m facing one of the best pitchers in the game. You either keep it fair or it’s not going to happen. You’re going to look bad. He looked pretty bad on those pitches.’’

Ortiz said none of the pitches in the at-bat were strikes. Miller hopped up and down on a couple, believing he had strikes that were called balls.

“It was bad brother,’’ Ortiz said. “That’s all I can say. It was bad.’’

Kulpa had a different view.

“The 3-1 pitch, I had it coming through the zone. That’s why I called it a strike,’’ Kulpa said. “[Brian] McCann didn’t help me out. He took the ball down a little bit. But the pitch still came through the zone. And the 3-2 pitch, I had it in the zone right down the middle.’’

Farrell said Ortiz shouldn’t have swung at either pitch.

“I think anyone who saw the ninth inning and how it unfolded probably knows the story,’’ Farrell said.

“We created another scoring opportunity with a big opportunity in the ninth. If you were watching game closely, you’d know what the story of this one was.’’

The manager added, “I disagreed with a couple of calls that were made. An argument ensued and we had different opinions.’’

Kulpa didn’t seem peeved at Farrell. .

“John was just out there. He was arguing balls and strikes. He was just trying to keep Ortiz in the game and he was doing his job as a manager,’’ said the umpire.

Kulpa said he had never been tossed by a manager, but “I’m sure you can maybe dig something up from back in the old days with Earl Weaver or something like that.’’

Ortiz was ejected, said the umpire, because “he just got back to the dugout and continued to argue balls and strikes. That’s why Ortiz was ejected.

“It was just another game, another big game between the Yankees and the Red Sox. Emotions are high, it’s just part of the game.’’

At least it was on this night, when the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry showed some life.