The Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees are currently in the most compelling division race in MLB. The drama reached another level on Friday.
Benches cleared in the ninth inning when Orioles rookie Heston Kjerstad took a 96.8 mph sinker to the helmet from Yankees closer Clay Holmes. The Yankees were leading 4-1 at the time.
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde was visibly furious after the pitch and took the field to confront the New York dugout. He was stopped by Yankees catcher Austin Wells, but the benches and bullpens were already emptying.
The ensuing scrum saw plenty of contentious shoving before dissipating.
Hyde was ejected for starting the brawl while Kjerstad was removed from the game, replaced by pinch-runner Austin Hays. The manager told reporters after the game that the behavior of the Yankees coaching staff was what set him off:
“It’s an emotional time at that time. I got my guy who just got hit right in the ear. I’m upset and then I see their dugout. They’re waving at me and yelling at me, so I just didn’t appreciate it at the time.”
The Yankees got out the next two batters, Ryan Mountcastle and Cedric Mullins, to end the game for a 4-1 win. They got the win primarily thanks to a strong start from Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole, who had struggled since returning from an elbow injury but allowed only one earned run in six innings while striking out seven.
Meanwhile, Aaron Judge hit his MLB-leading 33rd home run of the season.
The loss was the Orioles’ fourth straight, and moves the Yankees to only one game behind them for the AL East lead. That means they’ll have to win at least one of their games against New York on Saturday and Sunday to enter the All-Star break with even a share of the lead.
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