The New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles’ series opener on Tuesday took a wild turn when the visitors plunked Aaron Judge and Gleyber Torres with wild pitches. The hit on Judge was bad enough to keep him out of the contest indefinitely and ignite a spark in the brewing rivalry.
Aaron Judge was scratched from the Wednesday lineup against Orioles and given the series of events unfolded on Tuesday, the Yankees were fired up to sort revenge for their captain. Victor Gonzalez, the right handed relief pitcher, turned the heat on by plunking Orioles’ in-form hitter, thus giving rise to a widespread debate.
Victor Gonzalez Knocks Gunnar Henderson A Day After Aaron Judge’s HBP Incident
The New York Yankees-Baltimore Orioles series has been marked by high tensions and competitive play, especially after Aaron Judge got hit by a pitch on Tuesday, which fuelled his Yankee teammates. Alex Verdugo said on Tuesday that he expects the series to have a little more edge. However, the Bombers repeatedly confirmed that they have no intentions to carry this forward. However, Victor Gonzalez apparently didn’t receive the memo as he plunked Oriole’s best hitter, Gunnar Henderson, in the top of the seventh inning on Wednesday. Gonzalez’s fastball hit Henderson’s back. But the hitter chose not to react and walked on first base quietly. However, the fans at the Yankee Stadium cheered Victor wholeheartedly.
Even Yankees teammates in the dugout had a wary smile on their faces when Victor Gonzalez hit Gunnar Henderson with the pitch. Not only that, Caleb Ferguson decided to join the party as well when he hit Colton Cowser with a 94 mph four-seam fastball with one out in the eighth inning. It led to frustration inside the Oriole’s camp as they protested the Yankee pitchers’ behavior.
However, the umpire chose not to step in despite the series getting heated up since Tuesday. While the Orioles had the last laugh with a 7-6 victory, the New York Yankees are expected to fight back on Thursday during the series finale, where captain Aaron Judge is expected to return to the lineup. His left-hand CT and X-ray scans came back negative. But some part of the swelling is currently restricting his return to the lineup.
Orioles Broadcasters Shames Yankees For Intentional HBP
Moments after Gunnar Henderson was drilled by Victor Gonzalez, Baltimore Orioles accused the New York Yankees of purposely hitting Gunnar to sort revenge for Aaron Judge incident. Orioles broadcasters went on air to say that if the Yanks did it intentionally, the behaviour are tactics are extremely shameful. However, Orioles manager gave the benefit of doubt to Victor.
He said nothing about the pitch that hit Henderson indicates that it was meant to hit him. Victor Gonzalez simply wanted to pitch up and in, and it kind of slipped through his hand. Moreover, Gunnar Henderson is fine, and that’s all that matters. The Yankees reliever also broke his silence to claim that he wasn’t trying to hit Gunnar and instead planned to pitch up and in the strike zone.
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