Police use pepper spray on revelers; 18 arrests

As tens of thousands of fans in a baseball-crazed city toasted baseball's ultimate prize last night, police appeared to move quicker and more aggressively to control the pandemonium than they had during last week's tragic celebration.

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Before the game ended, police blocked access to Lansdowne Street, the scene of last week's confrontation with thousands of rowdy fans. Less than an hour after the final out last night, police equipped with riot gear and smoke canisters began pushing crowds away from Fenway Park down Brookline Avenue and out of Kenmore Square.

And when fans who filled Massachusetts Avenue two hours later began throwing bottles at the windows of cars parked near the Christian Science Church headquarters, police in riot gear liberally used pepper spray to disperse the crowd.

Recalling the death of Victoria Snelgrove, an Emerson College junior who was shot as the celebration turned dangerous and destructive a week ago, some fans last night welcomed the presence of hundreds of police officers.

"A girl died," said Bill Bomerford, a 21-year-old student at Boston University who was on Brookline Avenue. "I'd rather be safe then have anyone else die."

At 1:40 a.m., Boston police had made 18 arrests, according to spokesman John Boyle. Three minor injuries were also reported.

At least 700 police, many wearing gas masks, blocked streets, wielded nightsticks, and used pepper spray, smoke canisters, and water hoses to clear congested areas. Along Brookline Avenue, revelers hung from trees, lit Roman candles, and howled with joy.

At Massachusetts Avenue and Boylston Street, hundreds of fans filled the intersection, shutting down the streets until police arrived in force to clear them.

By Fenway Park, the sounds of "Dirty Water," the team's unofficial anthem, blared over a loudspeaker and provided thumping accompaniment to hoots, screams, and yelps from the growing crowd. Strangers danced and police received congratulatory pats on the back from college-age adults, many of whom yelled, "We won!"

Seconds after the final out, thousands of fans poured into Kenmore Square and toward Fenway Park, where they were met at the intersection of Brookline Avenue and Lansdowne Street by a line of police. Some bottles and rocks were tossed at officers, who pushed the crowd back toward Park Drive to prevent fans from reaching the ballpark.

Police did not immediately provide a crowd estimate; last week, the crowds around Fenway Park and Kenmore Square swelled to an estimated 80,000.

Boston police last night did not use the FH303 pepper-pellet gun that fatally injured Snelgrove following the Red Sox's pennant-clinching victory Oct. 20 over the New York Yankees.

Emily Sweeney and Maria Cramer of the Globe staff contributed to this report, along with correspondents Heather Allen, Jack Encarnacao, and Brendan McCarthy.