An old AL East rivalry was reheated Friday night as the benches cleared between the Yankees and Orioles in the bottom of the ninth.
Yankees closer Clay Holmes hit Heston Kjerstad in the head with a 96.8 mph sinker, which didn’t do much sinking, on an 0-2 pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Kjerstad was quickly tended to by trainers and his manager, Brandon Hyde, but, given the frightening situation, Hyde was red-hot and had some words with Holmes and catcher Austin Wells.
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Third baseman Oswaldo Cabrera and an umpire held Holmes back before anything could happen, but only temporarily.
After Kjerstad reached first (he was pinch-ran for), Hyde walked back toward the field and was yelling in the direction of the Yankees dugout — it appeared he was yelling at third base coach Luis Rojas, who was snapping right back.
Wells did his best to hold Hyde back, but he couldn’t do much, as both teams met right near home plate, and the bullpens came sprinting from the outfield.
There was some light pushing and shoving that ensued, but no player was ejected (other than Hyde), and no punches were thrown — so, it wasn’t quite their brawl from 1998.
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Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he understood why Hyde was upset, noting that Hyde should have his players’ backs — Hyde, though, said the Yankees bench was “waving” and “yelling” at him, which he “didn’t appreciate.”
Hyde said he “heard some stuff” when he was walking back to the dugout, which led to his reaction.
He added Hjerstad was getting tested. “We’re hoping for the best,” he said.
This has been brewing for quite a bit, though — the Yankees have hit Orioles batters 10 times this season, while the O’s have done so just three times.
The Yankees, who own MLB’s worst record since June 13, held on to the much-needed 4-1 win, cutting their deficit for the division lead to just two games — the O’s are now 3-5 against the Yanks this season.
Reigning Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole had his best start of this season as he tossed six strong innings of one-run, five-hit, seven-strikeout ball.
The division race seems to be between these two teams for the rest of the season, and judging by Friday night, it’s going to be fun the rest of the way.
They’ll be back in action at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
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