Judge hits 33rd homer, benches clear in 9th as Yankees top Orioles 4-1 to trim AL East lead to 1

BALTIMORE — Aaron Judge hit his 33rd homer for his first RBI in over a week, and the New York Yankees took the opener of their three-game set with AL East-leading Baltimore, beating the Orioles 4-1 on Friday night.

Benches cleared and there was some pushing and shoving in the bottom of the ninth after Orioles outfielder Heston Kjerstad was hit around the ear flap of his helmet by Clay Holmes’ pitch.

Gerrit Cole (2-1) pitched six solid innings for the Yankees, who pulled within a game of first place. Baltimore has dropped four in a row.

The teams met for the first time since the Orioles took two of three in New York last month. Since then, the Yankees are 6-13 and Baltimore is 8-12. That has allowed Boston to creep to within 5 1/2 games of the division lead.

Cole allowed a run and five hits, throwing 106 pitches in his longest outing - by both innings and pitches - since returning from elbow problems in the middle of June. Three relievers finished, with Holmes working a hitless ninth for his 21st save in 26 chances.

With one out, a 97 mph pitch by Holmes hit Kjerstad in the helmet. After a delay, Kjerstad was able to get up but left the game. Then things escalated, with Orioles manager Brandon Hyde walking toward the New York dugout and pointing, at which point Yankees catcher Austin Wells tried to restrain Hyde but benches and bullpens emptied.

Hyde was ejected.

Baltimore rookie Cade Povich (1-4) permitted three runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings. He walked five and struck out six.

Anthony Volpe led off the second with a single and ended up all the way on third thanks to right fielder Anthony Santander’s error. Jose Trevino’s double gave New York a 1-0 lead, and a single by Jahmal Jones brought Trevino home.

The Orioles, who were shut out by the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday and Thursday, put the leadoff man on base five times in the first seven innings against New York, but their only run came on an RBI triple by Ramón Urías in the second.

Judge, who had gone eight games without an RBI or an extra-base hit, answered in the third with a drive past the deep left-field wall at Camden Yards. He leads the major leagues in home runs by five over Shohei Ohtani.

Judge walked in his other four plate appearances.

The Yankees added a run in the ninth on Juan Soto’s RBI single.

The Orioles are unbeaten in their last 22 series against the AL East, going 16-0-6. The Yankees can end that run with a victory Saturday or Sunday.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Yankees: New York put INF J.D. Davis (stomach flu) on the 10-day injured list retroactive to Tuesday. The Yankees recalled INF Jorbit Vivas from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

UP NEXT

Baltimore sends Grayson Rodriguez (11-3) to the mound against Luis Gil (9-5) on Saturday. Gil didn’t make it through the second inning of a 17-5 loss to the Orioles at Yankee Stadium last month.