Yankees-Orioles fight adds spice to crucial AL East series

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BALTIMORE – Brandon Hyde, the old minor-league catcher turned manager, was bulling toward the New York Yankees dugout, digging in his heels for more leverage, driving his legs, only to be thwarted by a backup catcher who began the day celebrating his 25th birthday and ended it aiming to douse, not light, any fireworks.

“I thought it was a cool birthday,” Austin Wells would say later Friday night, the chaos at the end of the Yankees’ 4-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles safely in the rear view.

“I was trying to limit the damage.”

That’s an appropriate sentiment for both the benches-clearing brawl that sent the bottom of the ninth inning sideways – and for a Yankees team inspiring dread among its supporters.

They’d lost or split their last eight series dating to mid-June when they came into Camden Yards aiming to cut into Baltimore’s two-game lead in the American League East before the teams decamp for the All-Star break come Sunday.

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They halved that deficit Friday, and inadvertently tossed kerosene on what’s turning into an epic on-field rivalry and a spicy one off it.

“The intensity level has pretty much been at that for the entirety of the year,” said Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, the winning pitcher Friday.

“So, I expect it to stay consistent.”

The kindling was lit a month ago in the Bronx, when Yankees superstar Aaron Judge was hit on the hand by a pitch, but averted serious injury, this on a night second baseman Gleyber Torres also wore one.

Yankees starter Nestor Cortes responded by buzzing the tower on Orioles All-Star shortstop Gunnar Henderson; a day later, reliever Victor Gonzalez drilled Henderson on the shoulder.

The higher road was taken that week in the Bronx, and the teams convened in Baltimore with the Orioles holding a 5-2 advantage in the season series. It seemed for all the world like the Yankees would uneventfully claim the opener, to the extent Cole pitching his best game after recovering from an elbow injury and Judge clubbing his 33rd home run are business as usual.

And then the rains came in time for the ninth inning, a steamy 81-degree night turned wet. Yankees closer Clay Holmes struck out Jordan Westburg for the inning’s first out, but when he tried to throw a front-door sinker to left-handed batting Heston Kjerstad, he badly yanked it.

The 97 mph pitch flew high and inside and the rookie Kjerstad was helpless to move, ducking just enough that the ball struck the very bottom of his helmet. He stayed down in the batter’s box for a few moments, got up, was examined by trainer Brian Ebel and trudged toward first before diverting to the dugout; he will be in concussion protocol Saturday.

Holmes aimed to air his feelings that there was no intent. Hyde didn’t appear to be receptive to those comments.

Somebody – coach, player, otherwise – said something from the Yankees dugout and Hyde, his rabbit ears likely perked for such commentary, turned and strode quickly toward the Yankee dugout.

“I’m just walking back and I hear stuff from their dugout, so just reacted the way I did,” Hyde said. “I saw they were pointing at me and the whole thing, so just reacted the way I did.”

And a touch of chaos was added to the pennant race.

Hyde didn’t get much further than the left-handed batter’s box by the time Wells – in the game only because Jose Trevino injured his quadriceps – dug in.

A mosh pit formed around them, the bullpens jogging in and words – “You gotta be there (to know),” Judge said with a grin – exchanged.

“Anytime a player gets hit in the head, emotions run high,” said Orioles outfielder Austin Hays, who replaced Kjerstad on the bases. “I don’t think Clay was trying to hit Heston in the head right there. Probably just trying to go in, front-door sinker and he missed up.

“That ball hit Heston so solid. I really hope he’s OK. We’ll be saying some prayers tonight. Anytime you see players get hit on the hands and the head, it’s dangerous and guys can miss games for that.

“Emotions are always higher when you see a guy get hit up top. I think that’s what you saw there.”

There was little dispute from the other side on that.

“It was completely understandable, I think,” Cole said. “Dude, it’s so wet out there tonight. Anybody out there knows it was tough to grip the baseball tonight. The guy got hit in the head.

“So, it’s understandable Brandon got pissed. And he’s defending his players.”

Said Judge: “He’s their manager. He’s been a great manager for them for quite a few years. He always has his guys’ back, so I think he’s going to stand up in a situation like that for his team.

“I got a lot of respect for him and what he does. So I think if there’s any moment to stand up…”

‘I thought he looked like our ace’

The series resumes Saturday, but Hyde almost certainly won’t be around to witness it. A suspension from Major League Baseball is likely, and managers cannot appeal such discipline.

If the bad blood is percolating, bench coach Fredi Gonzalez will preside over it. But the teams’ larger goals may outweigh any overt displays of machismo or vigilante justice.

“I don’t think so. Playing for too much to get caught up in that,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “We gotta play well, we gotta win ballgames.

“Same for them. Hopefully, we come out and play baseball tomorrow.”

They’ll be hard-pressed to match Friday’s artistry. Cole, the reigning Cy Young Award winner making his fifth start of the season, confirmed that the past month was really his personal spring training, building back his arm strength after a first-half elbow scare forced him to the sidelines.

He saw the sixth inning and the 100-pitch mark for the first time this season. He battled back from a 3-0 count to freeze Henderson on a curveball to strand the tying run on base in the third to start a run of 11 consecutive batters retired.

He pushed his fastball velocity to 99 mph, finishing his night with a deft leaping snare of a comebacker and leaving a weary bullpen with just nine outs to consume.

“I thought he looked like our ace,” Boone said. “There was an edge to him, but he was having fun. There was a joy to the way he was pitching.

“He’s one of his generation’s great pitchers. He’s an ace and he loves challenges, he loves the competition. It was fun watching him compete in the moment.”

And goodness, did the Yankees need that.

Their rotation was excellent through the first month of the season, after which rookie Luis Gil took the torch through a dominant May, winning AL pitcher of the month honors. Yet just as Cole returned, they imploded.

Gil? He has a 7.00 ERA in his past six starts, after a 0.60 mark his previous six. Carlos Rodon has a 10.57 ERA in his last five starts, after a 14-start run with a 2.93 mark. Not coincidentally, the Yankees were 11-3 in his good stretch, 0-5 in his bad.

Boiling point

Yet the Orioles are down bad, too, right now. They were swept at home this week for the first time in three years, by the mid Chicago Cubs, no less. Friday, they gave the ball to Cade Povich, a left-hander making his seventh major league start.

“I think we’re going to find out in the first inning. His first innings have been a little rocky,” Hyde said before the game. “He’s had trouble with his command.”

You might say. Povich walked five batters in his 5⅓-inning outing, giving up Judge’s massive home run over the big wall in left. The Orioles learned; Judge golfed an 0-2 curveball over the fence but saw exactly one strike in his four other plate appearances, all ending in walks.

Baltimore’s vaunted offense is no better. The Orioles are batting .182 (13 for 82) with runners in scoring position in 10 games this month, and could not stretch their lead over the Yankees to more than three games even as New York lost seven of nine.