With the Yankees mounting a fifth-inning rally Monday, Greg Bird wanted to reach base by any means necessary. The Orioles’ Wei-Yin Chen threw Bird an inside pitch, and Bird, a 22-year-old rookie, winced as if he had been hit.

The acting was underwhelming. After ruling that the ball had fouled off the bottom of Bird’s bat, the plate umpire, Clint Fagan, called Bird back into the batter’s box. Bird later said that he knew the pitch had nicked his bat but that he was scared and caught off guard.

In the end, Bird coaxed out a free base by drawing a walk that set up John Ryan Murphy for a two-run homer. That blast put the Yankees on top of a seesaw battle, 5-4.