Orioles broadcasters blast Yankees for Gunnar Henderson HBP in ugly loss

With Aaron Judge out of the lineup and Gerrit Cole on a pitch count/innings limit, the New York Yankees looked like they were going to go down quietly on Wednesday night against the Baltimore Orioles.

At the very least, it seemed the drama from Judge's hit by pitch from Tuesday was simmering after six full innings. Nobody wanted that to persist, even if the Yankees were limping with just two hits heading into the seventh.

But then Victor Gonzalez flipped the script. After pitching a clean sixth, he came back out for the seventh as manager Aaron Boone was trying to preserve the bullpen in what felt like a lost cause. Gonzalez got Jorge Mateo to pop out and then promptly drilled Orioles star Gunnar Henderson in the back with a 94 MPH fastball on an 0-0 count.

Admittedly, not good. But this is nothing new for the Yankees. They've hit a ton of batters this year. That didn't stop the Orioles broadcast from, of course, drawing the easiest parallel known to man and pushing the narrative.

Then again, if they were "retaliating" for Judge, it's hard to believe it would've come this late in the game, down by three runs. But whenever you hit the other team's best player, you can expect the chatter. The O's broadcast also sounded upset that the home plate umpire didn't warn both benches after what had happened the previous night.

Orioles broadcasters call out Yankees for Gunnar Henderson HBP in ugly loss

Either way, it seems like everyone in the Orioles' camp thinks the Yankees are the villains/instigators when it was them who hit the best player in baseball on the hand with an errant fastball. Just because Judge called them out in the postgame doesn't mean the Yankees were out for blood. Just because some unruly fans suggested the Yankees should go head hunting doesn't mean that was the team's intention.

But hey, it's understandable. Tensions are high. People are mad. O's fans are still sour about Juan Soto running into Jordan Westburg. And it didn't help when Caleb Ferguson hit Colton Cowser with a pitch the next inning. Cowser threw down his bat and Jose Trevino seemed to have kicked it in frustration when it bounced back toward him. The ump still didn't issue any warnings.

This came after the Yankees got right back into the game with a Giancarlo Stanton three-run homer. But in typical fashion, New York couldn't close the door in a tense game with emotional implications on the line.

They tied it in the bottom of the ninth, but the damage was already done. The Yankees do not win in extras. Ron Marinaccio unraveled at the seams after relieving Gerrit Cole in the fifth. Aaron Boone pinch-hit Jahmai Jones and took Trent Grisham out of the game in bases-loaded situation with two outs in the sixth (spoiler alert, the Yankees didn't score). Juan Soto misplaying a ball in right field got the Orioles their fifth run (which was Henderson after the HBP).

Then came the 10th, when Jose Trevino was once again victimized by base stealers running wild. He allowed the second run of the inning when he airmailed a throw into left field. The Orioles stole four bases on the night and three of them came around to score.

Clay Holmes continued his rickety streak of coming in and making it look a lot more difficult than it should. He gave up a hit to the Orioles' worst offensive player in Cedric Mullins, who is batting .193 on the season. Mullins somehow took second base on a blooper to center field because Alex Verdugo decided to rifle the ball home when he never really had a chance at getting the runner. That sequence put another runner in scoring position and Mullins stole third, then came home after that Trevino throw.

The Yankees also seemingly got screwed in the 10th when Oswaldo Cabrera was thrown out at second base on a steal attempt in which the O's were clearly blocking the bag. Boone challenged it but the call was upheld, and the new rule continues to confuse everybody.

What was shaping up to be a fun game ended up playing out like the first six innings in regard to disappointment and ineffectiveness. The Yankees fought back, but it wasn't enough, and now they face an all-important rubber match as they look to limit mistakes and show why they're tops in the division. An emphatic response here would be great, but we're not counting on it.