Two Yankees Scuffle Before Another Loss

The tension that has always existed between Orlando Hernandez and Jorge Posada--sometimes for the better, sometimes not--exploded Saturday.

El Duque punched Posada in the face before the New York Yankees’ game against the Chicago White Sox, and teammates had to pull the two men apart, according to Newsday. The incident probably will strengthen the desire of the Yankees’ front office to get rid of Hernandez after the season.

Posada, who didn’t appear injured, started at catcher and went 0 for 4 in the Yankees’ 8-1 loss to the White Sox at Yankee Stadium.

After Saturday’s game, Hernandez waved at a reporter who approached him and said, “Bye,” as in “Goodbye.” He offered no further comment.

“I’ve got nothing to say about that,” Posada said. “It’s something we’re going to keep in the clubhouse.”

A team source said the matter will be handled internally, with no announcement if there is any disciplinary action.

The one-punch affair took place about 70 minutes before the scheduled first pitch, in the Yankees’ clubhouse. According to a source with knowledge of the situation, it stemmed from an incident in Hernandez’s last start Wednesday. Hernandez had wanted to discuss the incident with Posada, to find out if the catcher had failed to pass on a warning from the umpire about licking his fingers. But Posada refused to talk about it.

In Saturday’s game, Dan Wright (12-12) handcuffed the highest-scoring team in the majors for seven innings and Jeff Liefer hit a three-run homer into the upper deck. Roger Clemens (12-6) lost for only the second time in 21 decisions at Yankee Stadium over the last two years--and first time this season.

Boston 6, Baltimore 4--Derek Lowe won his 20th game and Manny Ramirez homered twice as the Red Sox won at Boston and guaranteed the Orioles an unprecedented fifth consecutive losing season.

Lowe (20-7) is the first pitcher in baseball history to win 20 games the season after saving 20. He is also the first to record at least 40 saves and later win 20; John Smoltz and Dennis Eckersley did it the other way around.

Toronto 8, Tampa Bay 4--Former NBA player Mark Hendrickson won his first major league game, and Carlos Delgado homered twice at Toronto as the Blue Jays won their season-high sixth consecutive game. Hendrickson (1-0), a 6-foot-9, 28-year-old left-hander, allowed one run on four hits in six innings.

Minnesota 3, Cleveland 2--Rick Reed (15-7) yielded two runs on four hits in seven innings and the Twins cut their magic number in the AL Central to two with a victory at Cleveland.

Detroit 4, Kansas City 2--Paul Byrd (16-11) pitched a four-hitter for his AL-leading seventh complete game and Mike Sweeney had two RBIs as the Royals won at Detroit.