Benches clear in the 9th inning as Yankees top Orioles

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BALTIMORE — For over three weeks now, the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees have been in sort of a joint slump — not enough to knock them out of the top two spots in the AL East, but frustrating nonetheless.

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When they met for one more intense series heading into the All-Star break, emotions eventually exploded.

Orioles outfielder Heston Kjerstad was hit in the helmet by a 97 mph pitch from Yankees closer Clay Holmes, and the benches emptied in the bottom of the ninth inning of New York’s 4-1 victory Friday night.

“I think there was just some chirping back and forth. I know we’ve gotten quite a few of their guys with hit by pitches. They’ve gotten us,” Yankees slugger Aaron Judge said. “Kind of boiled over there.”

With one out, Holmes’ pitch hit Kjerstad around the ear flap. After a delay, Kjerstad was able to get up but left the game. Then things escalated, with Orioles manager Brandon Hyde walking toward the New York dugout and pointing, at which point Yankees catcher Austin Wells tried to restrain Hyde but benches and bullpens emptied.

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There was some pushing and shoving before cooler heads prevailed. Hyde was ejected.

“My guy just got hit right in the ear,” Hyde said. “I’m upset and then I see their dugout and they’re waving at me and yelling at me, so I just didn’t appreciate it at the time.”

Afterward, the Yankees made it clear they hoped Kjerstad was OK. Hyde said the young outfielder was getting testing.

It was rainy toward the end of the game, which likely impacted the grip on bats and balls.

“Two good teams going at it. Both clubs pitch inside. It’s so wet out there tonight,” said Gerrit Cole, who started on the mound for New York. “Anybody that was out there knows that it was tough to grip the baseball tonight. With that said though, the guy got hit in the head. So it’s understandable that Brandon’s pissed, and he’s defending his players.”

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In the eight games between the teams so far this season, 10 Baltimore batters and three New York hitters have been hit by pitches. In their June series at Yankee Stadium, Judge and Gleyber Torres were hit in the opener, and the next night Baltimore star Gunnar Henderson was plunked.

At that point, it appeared the Orioles and Yankees were the only real contenders in the division, but since that series, Baltimore is 8-12 and New York is 6-13. The first-place Orioles are a game ahead of the Yankees but only 5 1/2 up on Boston now.

“We’ve been playing really good baseball this first half and just kind of want to see us end the half playing well. We’ve run into a little bit of a skid right now,” Hyde said. “We’re kind of running through some tough times offensively.”

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