Oriole Manager Davey Johnson acknowledged Thursday that...

Oriole Manager Davey Johnson acknowledged Thursday that most baseball protests “don’t have a chance,” but Baltimore went ahead and filed one with the American League Thursday in an attempt to have Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter’s controversial Game 1 homer nullified.

Baltimore owner Peter Angelos and General Manager Pat Gillick contend in their five-page appeal that fan interference should have been called, and that because umpire Rich Garcia admitted blowing the call afterward, the “integrity of the game” has been compromised.

Baseball rules state that an umpire’s decision of judgment, such as whether a batted ball is fair or foul, a runner is safe or out, or a pitch is a strike or a ball, cannot be appealed.

But section 3.13 of The American League rule book also stipulates that no decision rendered by an umpire shall be reversed, “except that he be convinced that it is in violation of one of the rules.”

The Orioles contend that because Garcia said, after viewing a replay, that he missed the call, the umpire is “convinced” the play was in violation of the fan interference rule.

Baltimore has requested that the game be replayed from the eighth inning forward but the protest is expected to be denied.

“What day are we going to do that, in the spring?” Yankee Manager Joe Torre joked.

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The Yankees tripped over themselves in the fifth inning of Game 2 when Joe Girardi opened with a triple but didn’t score. Jeter, who has been in the thick of so many Yankee postseason rallies, struck out on a David Wells’ breaking ball.

Raines walked, but Williams, hailed as the new Mr. October for his clutch playoff hitting, swung wildly at a low-and-inside curve and struck out. Fielder then grounded out to second, ending the inning.

“That was the biggest part of the game,” Oriole Manager Davey Johnson said of Wells, who gave up three runs on eight hits in 6 2/3 innings. “He went right through the top of their order to get out of that jam.”

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Wells grew up a huge Yankee fan in San Diego, says he’s still “in awe” of Yankee Stadium, even though Thursday’s victory improved his career record there to 10-1.

“This is a special place for me,” Wells said. “There’s so much about this stadium I love and respect . . . but outside it’s chaos. [The fans] eat you up. I heard some things warming up in the bullpen that I’ve never heard before. But that’s New York fans.”

Wells said he did book reports on Babe Ruth in school. “The way he went about the game, he’s an idol,” Wells said, alluding to Ruth’s larger-than-life image, and his reputation as a carouser.

“I mean, in this day and age, if you ran around like he did, you’d be in trouble. But if I could come back [in another life] as someone, it would be Babe Ruth.”

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Thursday’s 4-hour 13-minute game was the longest nine-inning game in American League championship series history, eclipsing a 3:40 game between Oakland and Toronto in 1992. . . . Johnson said Wednesday night’s controversial homer shouldn’t trigger a push toward the use of instant replay in baseball. “I don’t want five-hour games,” Johnson said. “What would we use instant replay on, balls and strikes? We don’t need managers interfering with the game any more than they do now. There’s no place in this game for instant replay.” . . . Oriole pitching ace Mike Mussina will face Jimmy Key in Game 3 tonight in Baltimore, but Mussina is 0-3 with a 6.32 earned-run average against the Yankees this season. . . . Injured Yankee pitcher Doc Gooden, who was not activated for the championship series, threw out the ceremonial first pitch Thursday.