It was an eventful series opener between the New York Yankees (57-39) and Baltimore Orioles (57-37) on Friday night, especially in the ninth inning as the benches cleared, but the Yankees held on for a much-needed 4-1 victory.
With one out in the bottom of the ninth, Yankees closer Clay Holmes drilled Orioles left fielder Heston Kjerstad in the helmet with a sinker on an 0-2 pitch in the rain, and things quickly escalated. Baltimore’s manager Brandon Hyde started yelling at New York’s catcher Austin Wells and the Yankees dugout before the benches cleared, resulting in Hyde being ejected from the contest.
After things settled down, Holmes recorded the final two outs to pick up his 21st save of the season.
Gerrit Cole tossed six innings of one-run ball while striking out seven.
Aaron Judge smacked his Major League-leading 33rd home run of the season and walked four times. Jose Trevino had an RBI double, while Jahmai Jones and Juan Soto added run-scoring singles.
The Yankees will try to secure a series win in game two of this three-game set on Saturday at 4:05 p.m. with Luis Gil on the mound.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].