The Red Sox’ David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis rejoice after scoring on Jason Bay’s double in the first inning last night.

The Providence Journal / Glenn Osmundson

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays are no doubt a team that has relied on a lot of factors this season to reach the ALCS.

There was a bench-clearing brawl with the Yankees in spring training. There was another bench-clearing brawl with the Red Sox at Fenway Park. The Tampa players wanted the rest of the baseball world to realize they were for real.

The Rays are young. They are confident and cocky enough to believe they can beat the Red Sox in the ALCS and advance to the World Series.

Tampa will point to those two incidents earlier in the season that helped the club bond in a way that would help it defeat adversity and reach the postseason for the first time in franchise history.

According to the Red Sox players, they don’t need incidents such as those to bring them together as a winning club because the team knows how to win and has for the last few years.

“We’ve always been a team,” said Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia. “It started before I got here, and it’ll be that way after I leave. We plan to win no matter what.”

Every team plans to win, but not every club can do it as consistently as the Red Sox. The Rays obviously were able to accomplish that this season en route to their first A.L. East Division title.

Tampa has always had to rely on young players because it had no other choice. Boston had been built with veterans, but the last few seasons has relied on homegrown talent.

That has never been more obvious than it has been the last two months.

With a young lineup that includes Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury, the Sox needed Jed Lowrie and Justin Masterson to play crucial roles, especially in the playoffs.

Francona admitted when management conducted its meetings during spring training, players such as Masterson and Lowrie were mentioned by the player development staff as two guys who would be able to make an impact at the major-league level.

The way it played out it was as though they knew injuries were inevitable and these players could add to a potent core of young talent in Boston.

When veteran infielder Julio Lugo suffered a season-ending quadriceps injury on July 12, Lowrie became the everyday shortstop. Not only did Lowrie fill in, he contributed in a big way.

Masterson was needed to make a few spot starts earlier in the season, before he was shifted to the bullpen where he has been extremely effective. Over the last two months both have proven their worth.

“I’d be lying if I told you I haven’t enjoyed these last two months,” said Francona. “We’ve got some pretty special kids.

“There are a lot of rare things going on,” said Francona. “We’ve got a kid [Lowrie] who can play short and third, and we’re moving him back and forth during a game. There have been a lot of things that we have asked these guys to do that they have done willingly, but also making the plays. It’s nice that they are willing to do, but they are able to do it on top of it.”

While Lowrie and Masterson are getting their feet wet in their first postseason, Ellsbury was thrown right into the fire in 2007 when he replaced the struggling Coco Crisp for Game Six of the ALCS against the Indians.

Ellsbury responded and served as a sparkplug as Boston eventually beat the Rockies in the World Series.

After Friday’s Game One victory over the Rays, Ellsbury was strutting through the visitor’s clubhouse with the swagger of a seasoned veteran.

“There were times when I thought what he did last year was almost detrimental,” explained Francona. “I’m glad he did (performed well) but the bar was set high and probably unrealistic. When a young kid goes through a whole year there will be growing pains, and he went through the normal growing pains.”

The reason why Ellsbury, and the rest of the young players for the Red Sox are so good, is because of their confidence to perform at a high level. Management believed in them and it has paid off.

Because of the solid mix of prospects and veterans, Boston doesn’t need any team-building exercises to make the Red Sox a perennial winner.

jmcdonal@projo.com