The Yankees and Orioles got into a tense standoff after Clay Holmes hit a batter in the head with a 97 mph fastball in the bottom of the ninth. It was a scary moment—the pitch slipped out of Holmes’ hand in wet conditions and went straight to the ear hole. Holmes insisted it was unintentional, and all signs point to that being true. Still, the Orioles were fired up. Manager Brandon Hyde cursed Holmes out from the dugout, yelling in frustration, and it sparked a full-on benches-clearing dispute between both teams.
The Orioles felt justified. The Yankees have hit Baltimore batters 10 times this season, including several up-and-in pitches. Stat data backs it up—New York leads the league in up-and-in pitches to Orioles hitters. The Orioles, in contrast, have rarely brushed Yankee hitters back. Hyde wasn’t having it and let Holmes know, which triggered a loud response from the Yankees dugout defending their teammate. Things escalated fast from there, with Hyde shouting back and tossing his helmet, prompting a swarm of players, coaches, and bullpens onto the field.
Amid the chaos, DJ LeMahieu ended up rescuing a fallen Orioles coach from getting trampled, then got shoved by the very guy he helped. Gerrit Cole played peacemaker, trying to cool things down. The injured batter, undergoing concussion protocol, was later put on the 7-day concussion list. Postgame, everyone said the right things. Cole acknowledged the ball was slippery but understood why the Orioles were upset. The incident highlighted ongoing tension from the Yankees’ pitching strategy, and now the teams’ relationship is even more heated.