Yankees, Orioles benches clear following Heston Kjerstad slide into 2nd base

After New York Yankees second baseman Pablo Reyes landed on him while trying to catch a high throw, Baltimore Orioles outfielder Heston Kjerstad took exception. The two players converged at second base – and the benches cleared from there.

Kjerstad stole second in the bottom of the fourth inning, and the throw from Yankees catcher Austin Wells sailed into center field. But as Reyes came back down, he landed on Kjerstad’s neck and appeared to push off after hitting the ground, which led the Orioles right fielder to take exception.

Kjerstad and Reyes exchanged words as players from both teams, as well as the umpires, got in between to separate. It also didn’t take long for the benches and bullpens to clear, although things settled down quickly. No one was ejected.

Benches cleared in Baltimore after Heston Kjerstad took exception to Pablo Reyes’ attempt to field a throw from Austin Wells. pic.twitter.com/VGKDEJaVpZ

— Fireside Yankees (@FiresideYankees) April 30, 2025

The Orioles eventually got out of the inning with the 4-2 lead, meaning Kjerstad’s stolen base didn’t lead to any further damage. Baltimore is looking to bounce back in a big way following Tuesday’s game, which started in historic fashion for the Yankees.

For the second time this year, New York started a game with three straight home runs – doing so exactly one month apart. Trent Grisham, Aaron Judge and Ben Rice hit back-to-back-to-back jacks to get things started. Then, after a Paul Goldschmidt groundout, Cody Bellinger added one of his own as the Yankees got to Cody Gibson right away in his first start of the year.

All told, the Yankees hit six solo home runs en route to the resounding 15-3 victory at Camden Yards. They had never started a game with three straight homers until a March 29 game against the Milwaukee Brewers, but now have done so twice in a month.

Gibson threw 3.2 innings in his season debut, allowing 11 hits and nine earned runs before the Baltimore bullpen took over. On the Yankees side, Carlos Rodón spun a gem on the mound, striking out seven Orioles hitters while allowing two hits and two earned runs in his seven innings of work.

With the win, New York improved to 18-12 on the season and sit ahead of the Boston Red Sox for first place in the American League East as the calendar gets ready to flip to May. Baltimore, meanwhile, entered Wednesday’s game 11-18 and in last place in the division as the young MLB season continues.