New York starter Gerrit Cole kept the Baltimore Orioles in check over six innings and Aaron Judge finally homered again as the visiting Yankees won 4-1 in a matchup of American League East front-runners on Friday night.

Judge's majors-leading 33rd home run was his first long ball in nine games as the teams opened a three-game series.

There was tension with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, when Orioles manager Brandon Hyde became enraged after Yankees reliever Clay Holmes hit Heston Kjerstad in the head with a pitch. The dugouts emptied and there was some pushing and shoving. Hyde was ejected, and Holmes got a grounder and a strikeout to complete his 21st save.

The Yankees won for only the sixth time in their last 21 games, but it was enough to pull them within a game of first-place Baltimore.

The Orioles have lost four games in a row and will end up with a losing mark for the six-game homestand after getting swept by the Chicago Cubs earlier in the week.

Baltimore batters went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position, extending their three-game mark in that category to 1-for-25.

Cole (2-1) was making only his fifth start of the season after spending the first 2 1/2 months on the injured list. He limited the Orioles to one run on five hits with seven strikeouts and one walk in his longest start of the season.

Tommy Kahnle and Luke Weaver each worked an inning leading to Holmes.

Orioles rookie Cade Povich (1-4) surrendered three runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings. He issued five walks, but none of those baserunners ended up scoring, and struck out six.

The Yankees opened a 2-0 lead in the second inning. Jose Trevino smacked a run-scoring double and scored on Jahmai Jones' single.

Baltimore, which was shut out over the previous two nights, got on the board in the bottom of the inning when Ramon Urias hit an RBI triple. It was the only extra-base hit for the Orioles.

Judge's homer led off the third inning.

Trevino and Juan Soto had two hits apiece for the Yankees. Trevino doubled to lead off the ninth, and Soto drove him in with a two-out single.

--Field Level Media