BALTIMORE – A little bolder by the ninth inning, traveling Yankees fans – outnumbered these days at Camden Yards – were holding sway in the Inner Harbor.
Aaron Judge homered for the first time in 10 days, which seems like a month for the Yankees’ captain.
A more vintage Gerrit Cole became the first Yankees starter since Sunday to make it through at least five innings, and Clay Holmes was on to protect a three-run lead against the first-place Orioles.
In a flash, a budding rivalry reached a boiling point on a rainy Friday night, ignited by Holmes’ dangerous 0-2 pitch to Heston Kjerstad and O’s manager Brandon Hyde’s fiery response.
Holmes’ 97-mph sinker struck Kjerstad square in the helmet with a sickening sound, and soon the benches and bullpens had cleared.
Once things settled down, Holmes closed out a 4-1 Yankees win, sending Baltimore to its fourth straight loss and moving the Yanks within a game of the AL East leaders.
But with two more games to go before the All-Star break, this marquee series has even more attention.
“I would characterize it as good hard baseball,” said Cole, who yielded one run over six innings (106 pitches), the best of his five starts since coming off the injured list (right elbow nerve irritation).
“The intensity level (between both clubs) has been like that the entirety of the year,” said Cole, after the Yanks (57-39) won just their third game against Baltimore (57-37) in eight tries this season. “So, I expect it to stay consistent.”
A heated AL East battle becomes more intense
Yet, it’s fair to wonder what the Orioles’ response could be, and if one of the Yankees’ stars might be on the receiving end of an up-and-in delivery over the next two games.
Friday night’s mixer was slow to develop, with the initial concern over Kjerstad, who eventually walked back to the clubhouse, exiting the game for a pinch-runner.
