Whenever two of the best teams in baseball play in the same division, their battles have that much higher stakes.
That heightened energy was felt Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium, especially after Aaron Judge was hit by a pitch on his left hand in the third inning of the Yankees’ 4-2 win over the Orioles.
The stoic Judge marched halfway between Orioles starter Albert Suarez and first base while shaking his head.
“Definitely pissed,” Judge said about the pitch. “There was a couple balls up and in. It’s part of it. They like to throw in.”
After wincing but staying in to play center field, Judge left the game in the fourth inning, with Trent Grisham hitting in place of the Yankees’ captain.
Judge said afterward that X-rays and a CT scan both came back negative, allowing the Yankees and their fans to exhale.
Nonetheless, Judge’s teammates weren’t happy with Suarez’s pitch location.
“Our captain got hit. We don’t take what happened lightly,” outfielder Alex Verdugo said. “We’re none too pleased about it.”
However, the Orioles claimed the incident was unintentional.
“I was trying to go up and in, and I guess it was too much,” Suarez said. “I did it before. He fouled it off. I was trying to go in again and happened to hit him.”
Then, in the bottom of the fifth inning, second baseman Gleyber Torres was also hit in the hand by reliever Keegan Akin.
The Yankees’ dugout collectively rose to the top step, and several players yelled angrily in Baltimore’s direction.
The tension was palpable throughout the rest of the night, including in the sixth inning, when starter Nestor Cortes brushed O’s star Gunnar Henderson off the plate with a high-and-tight fastball.
“Pitcher’s been trying to work up and in recently. Just [a] competitive pitch,” Henderson said. “I didn’t really think anything of it.”
Courtesy of their series-opening victory, the Yankees moved to 51-24 and grew their division lead to 2 ¹/₂ games.
With two more high-stakes games left between the two AL powerhouses this week — including reigning Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole making his season debut Wednesday — the spotlight likely won’t get any dimmer, something which the Yankees recognize.
“Guys were talking about it right when I showed up — we wanted to beat these guys,” said first baseman Ben Rice, who made his MLB debut Tuesday. “First game done with, now we got to take the series.”