Things Get Back to Normal in the Bronx

Baseball at Yankee Stadium went from perfect to perfectly wild--or perhaps from the sublime to the ridiculous--in 48 hours.

Five players were ejected and several more severe penalties are sure to follow after the Yankees and Baltimore Orioles brawled for 10 minutes in the eighth inning of the Yankees’ 9-5 victory Tuesday night.

It was the first game in New York since David Wells pitched a perfect game in beating Minnesota on Sunday, and it was more like a heavyweight fight.

“This is what you’d call an imperfect game,” said Yankee owner George Steinbrenner, who talked with the New York players in the clubhouse after it.

The brawl started after Bernie Williams hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning, putting the Yankees ahead 7-5. Baltimore pitcher Armando Benitez drilled Tino Martinez in the upper back with his next pitch.

Plate umpire Drew Coble immediately ejected Benitez, but that was hardly enough for Darryl Strawberry and Chad Curtis, who led the Yankee charge from the first-base dugout. Benitez dropped his glove, motioning for Strawberry to fight, and then both teams went crazy.

After a bit of pushing and shoving, Yankee reliever Graeme Lloyd rushed from the bullpen and started swinging at Benitez. With nearly every player participating, the pile moved toward Baltimore’s third-base dugout, punctuated by several separate fights.

All of a sudden, Strawberry came flying from the top step of the dugout and landed a left hook to Benitez’s face. Strawberry fell into the bench, with Baltimore’s Cal Ripken Jr. and coach Eddie Murray trying to hold him back.

At that point, nearly every player was in the dugout and it took at least 10 minutes to restore order.

“I think it was pretty well subdued until one player came in there and punched one of our guys,” Oriole Manager Ray Miller, clearly referring to Strawberry.

Amazingly, there were no injuries, other than the bruise on Martinez’s back.

“I don’t throw at people,” Benitez said. “All I have to say is that I’m sorry for what happened.”

Once play resumed, Tim Raines hit the first pitch from reliever Bobby Munoz for a two-run homer.

The Yankees rallied for two runs in the seventh and six more in the eighth, sending Baltimore to its sixth consecutive loss. It is the Orioles’ longest losing streak since they dropped six in a row in April 1996.

Even after the game ended, the trouble was not finished. The Orioles milled around in the dugout for several minutes, and tensions are certain to be running high when the clubs play again tonight in the middle game of a series that goes through Thursday.

“I’m sure it won’t go away,” Yankee Manager Joe Torre said. “It’s awfully tough to forget about it in 24 hours and pretend all is well.”

Toronto 3, Tampa Bay 1--Woody Williams took a no-hitter into the eighth inning before Kevin Stocker singled with no outs in the Blue Jays’ win at Toronto.

Williams (4-2), a 31-year-old right-hander who spent most of his career in the minor leagues, was trying to become the second Blue Jay to pitch a no-hitter in the team’s 22-year history. Dave Stieb was the first, in 1990.

Williams’ bid was broken up when Stocker grounded a single to right field after leadoff batter Randy Winn walked. Winn later scored on Miguel Cairo’s groundout.

Texas 10, Seattle 4--Mike Simms and Mark McLemore hit three-run homers for the Rangers, who won at Arlington and beat Randy Johnson for the first time in 13 starts since 1993.

Johnson (3-3) was 8-0 in his previous 12 starts against the Rangers, but he left after only three innings, trailing, 6-1, against a lineup stocked with eight right-handed batters. Texas’ last victory over Johnson came on Aug. 8, 1993, a 7-1 victory.

His earned-run average shot up to 6.93, highest after two starts in any season since 1989, when he was with Montreal.

Chicago 9, Boston 5--Frank Thomas’ three-run homer capped a six-run fifth inning for the White Sox, who also had homers from Ruben Sierra and Ray Durham at Boston.

The Red Sox led, 2-0, on homers by John Valentin and Scott Hatteberg before Chicago got six consecutive hits to chase Bret Saberhagen (5-2) in the fifth inning. That was enough to make a winning pitcher of Jason Bere (2-4), who gave up two runs on six hits in seven innings for his longest outing since 1995.

Cleveland 16, Kansas City 3--Manny Ramirez hit a three-run homer and Sandy Alomar singled twice in a seven-run fifth inning that powered the Indians at Kansas City.