Yankees played themselves in failed revenge on Orioles for Aaron Judge HBP

While neither side will admit whether they intentionally hit the other with baseballs in what is now back-to-back games, there is a storm brewing between the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles, and one that will likely only be solved with a benches-clearing incident in which no punches are thrown. Yes, the 2024 MLB special.

Aaron Judge and Gleyber Torres were plunked on Tuesday, with the former being the most concerning due to his red-hot May and June. Judge, thankfully, appears to be fine, but the Yankees were not happy.

Judge left that game with a wrist injury. He hasn't yet returned to the lineup, but his MRI came back clean. In response, just a day later the Yankees hit young Orioles star Gunnar Henderson with a high sinker.

This was after Henderson took a pitch inside from Nestor Cortes in Tuesday's game following Judge's injury. It's this sort of tit-for-tat mentality that can make baseball dangerous.

“When something like that happens — because it’s probably in New York — it’s a little bit bigger of a deal,’’ Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “But we just don’t want that to happen.”

Gunnar Henderson HBP comes back to haunt the Yankees

Yankees pitcher Victor Gonzalez claimed the HBP wasn't intentional, but rather a sinker that got away from him. Perhaps the most surprising factor is that the home plate umpire didn't warn either bench, despite the recent history between the two teams.

Henderson came around to score on the play in a game the Orioles would win by one run, 7-6. Henderson's run gave the Orioles a four-run advantage at the time. While Cedric Mullins would eventually play the role of an unlikely hero, Henderson's hit by pitch and the subsequent trip around the bases definitely gave Baltimore a jolt.

“Getting hit is unfortunately a terrible part of the game, and I don’t think anybody wants to see anybody get hit,” Hyde said. “I don’t want to see their guys get hit. I don’t want to see our guys get hit. When something like that happens, because it’s probably New York, it’s a little bit bigger of a deal. But you just don’t want to see that happen.”

No players on the Orioles or Yankees has admitted intent, and it's tough to blame them, as doing so would open them up to fines and suspensions. Just a couple days after Yankees outfielder Alex Verdugo predicted fireworks in the meeting of AL East behemoths, the series has delivered and then some.