O's manager Hyde charges Yanks' dugout after HBP, sparking fracas

BALTIMORE -- The tensions got high when the Yankees and Orioles met in the Bronx three weeks ago. However, neither side reached a boiling point.

That changed when the American League East rivals reconvened at Camden Yards on Friday.

A benches-clearing fracas occurred in the bottom of the ninth inning of New York’s series-opening 4-1 win, shortly after Baltimore rookie outfielder Heston Kjerstad was hit in the head by a 96.8 mph sinker from All-Star closer Clay Holmes.

As Kjerstad exited the field with head athletic trainer Brian Ebel, O’s manager Brandon Hyde said he didn’t like some of the comments he heard coming from the Yankees’ bench, as well as some of the mannerisms he saw by the opposing coaches in the third-base dugout.

“It’s an emotional time at that time,” said Hyde, who was the lone person ejected from the game. “My guy just got hit right in the ear. 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.”

An incensed Hyde stormed toward home plate, where he was held off by New York catcher Austin Wells. Hyde began pointing toward the Yankees’ dugout, while several veteran Orioles players -- outfielders Austin Hays, Cedric Mullins and Anthony Santander -- rushed over to get in front of their manager.

Nobody was completely successful in defusing the situation before pushing and shoving could occur. The bullpens emptied, and the words flew from both sides.

“I was trying to limit the damage with that,” Wells said. “Nobody wants to fight, no one wants to be in that situation. So to be in the middle of it, I'm just trying to limit any unnecessary repercussions.”

“Any time you have a player get hit in the head, the emotions run a little bit high, and I think that’s all you saw there, was just some emotion coming out,” Hays said. “I don’t think Clay was trying to hit Heston in the head right there.”

It was not intentional, as Holmes stated in the Yankees’ clubhouse. It was a wet night in Baltimore, where rain fell steadily throughout the final inning.

Players from both sides attested that it became hard for pitchers to grip the balls and batters to hold onto bats due to the adverse weather conditions.

“You're never trying to hit somebody in the head up high like that. I hope Heston's OK from that. Definitely hope that he's all good tomorrow,” Holmes said. “I was trying to throw up a front-door sinker there, and it just cut. The movement wasn't my normal sinker, and [I] just kind of pulled it. ...

"I definitely wasn't trying to do anything and hurt him, hit him.”

Kjerstad underwent testing following the game. The 25-year-old was not available to talk to the media, but he did appear in the clubhouse, where he fist-bumped a team employee who was showing support.

When the Orioles took two of three games at Yankee Stadium from June 18-20, the Yankees became displeased after slugger Aaron Judge was hit by a 94 mph fastball on the left hand in the opener. Judge missed the next game, then returned for the finale.

The earlier three-game set also featured a pair of hit by pitches from the other side -- Baltimore’s Gunnar Henderson and Colton Cowser were both plunked on June 19.

On Friday, the Yanks understood Hyde’s frustration.

“Look, I understand him coming out and being hot. One of your guys gets hit like that, it's scary,” New York manager Aaron Boone said. “So I understand that.”

Added Judge: “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. Kind of boiled over there.”

The Orioles (57-37) and Yankees (57-39) are competing for an AL East title, so it’s no surprise there has been some heat to the rivalry this season. The stakes are high, and everybody knows it.

Baltimore, the defending division champion, holds a one-game lead over New York. The O’s lead the season series 5-3 with five meetings remaining (including two more this weekend to close out the first half of the season).

Neither team has been playing particularly well of late, though. Before Friday’s win, the Yankees had lost 18 of their previous 25 games. Meanwhile, the Orioles have lost four straight to open their homestand, having been swept by the Cubs in a three-game set earlier this week.

For the O’s -- who have scored only three runs in their past 36 innings -- their attention is primarily on getting back on track and rejuvenating their offense to avoid losing their division lead prior to the All-Star break (which will happen if the Yanks sweep the series).

“We’re having a hard time scoring runs, and that’s our main focus,” Baltimore designated hitter Ryan O’Hearn said. “So I would hope that we show up trying to win a baseball game and extra-curriculars don’t happen.”

Will that be the case, though? Or could the tensions remain when the series resumes Saturday and then concludes Sunday?

"It's the top two teams in the division. I think there's a very competitive atmosphere to this,” Holmes said. “We know that these games mean something. We’re here to show up. Two teams battling out like that, you’re going to feel that atmosphere, you’re going to feel the competitive energy.”

Nobody on either side would have it any other way.

“I mean, we’re fighting for the first-place spot in the division and we’ve always played games like that,” Hays said. “I expect it to be Yankees-Orioles baseball the way it’s always been.”