Baltimore Orioles Broadcasters Rip Yankees Over Controversial Plunking

Baltimore Orioles announcers blasted the New York Yankees for plunking one of their superstars.

Jun 18, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jorge Mateo (3) avoids being hit by a pitch. / Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees aren't known for being heated rivals, but that's changed this week at Yankee Stadium.

The two teams have been battling all season not just for the best record in the AL East, but the best record in the American League. After splitting the first two games of their three-game set this week, the Orioles remain just 1.5 games behind the Yankees.

When two teams are division rivals and fighting for the same prize, there tends to be a lot of bad blood. There's certainly been no love lost between the two sides this week, as they've resorted to a beanball war.

Baltimore threw the first punch during its 4-2 loss on Tuesday, hitting two New York batters (Aaron Judge and Keegan Akin) with pitches. The Yankees retaliated on Wednesday, drilling Gunnar Henderson and Colton Cowser.

The Orioles' broadcasting crew was not happy after Henderson got plunked by reliever Victor Gonzalez in the top of the seventh, calling out New York on the air for perhaps intentionally targeting the AL MVP candidate.

"Frankly shame on them"

Orioles broadcasters were not happy about the idea that the Yankees have may intentionally hit Gunnar Henderson pic.twitter.com/3klMAvzYJT

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) June 20, 2024

Judge was visibly upset during his postgame interview on Tuesday after getting beaned and missed Wednesday's game with a hand injury, so it was only a matter of time before Yankee pitching evened the score. As Baltimore's best player and leadoff man, Henderson was an easy target.

Unfazed, the 22-year-old reached base three times for the Orioles and scored two runs, helping his team to a 7-6 victory in 10 innings. More importantly, he showed great discipline, poise and composure by not escalating the situation.

Knotted at 1-1, this critical series will end on Thursday afternoon after a tense couple of days. Baltimore will try to win the rubber game behind Cole Irvin (6-3, 3.03 ERA), while New York will turn to star rookie Luis Gil (9-1, 2.03 ERA). Based on how the series has gone so far, don't be surprised if at least one more batter gets hit before it ends.