Benches cleared during the bottom of the ninth of Friday’s contest between the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles. (The Yankees would win by a 4-1 final.) Tempers flared after New York closer Clay Holmes struck Baltimore outfielder Heston Kjerstad in the helmet with an 0-2 fastball. Orioles manager Brandon Hyde then charged toward the Yankees dugout, with catcher Austin Wells doing his best to impede his progress. (Kjerstad, by the way, left the game and is expected to undergo further testing.)
Afterward, Hyde explained that he was enraged by how the Yankees dugout reacted — in particular, by what he heard when he was walking back to his dugout.
“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,” Hyde said, according to Jacob Calvin Meyer of the Baltimore Sun. “They’re waving at me & yelling at me, so I just didn’t appreciate it at the time.”
Here’s a look at the scene in question. Do note that Hyde was subsequently ejected:
Yankees manager Aaron Boone, for his part, said that he hopes Friday’s incident doesn’t carry over into Saturday’s game between the sides.
Boone was adamant that Holmes’ pitch was unintentional — and it seems like the truth. Although the Yankees entered Friday leading the majors this season with 61 hit batsmen, it would be illogical for Holmes to intentionally plunk Kjerstad given the circumstances of the game — an 0-2 count and him bringing the tying run to the plate.
Of course, you can understand Hyde and the Orioles’ frustration, too; no one wants to see a player hit in the helmet by a pitch, intentionally or otherwise. And, without knowing what exactly was said by the Yankees dugout, it’s hard to pass further judgment.
The Yankees are now a game back of the Orioles in the American League East.
