BALTIMORE — In a sleepy clubhouse, a burst of excitement came when ESPN showed highlights from the Yankees’ game Saturday night. The image of Joe Girardi standing on the top step of the dugout pumping his fist, in slow motion, after Brett Gardner’s two-run homer in the ninth prompted Nick Swisher to put down his cellphone and seek out his manager — for a hug, a fist bump, something.  “I was upset with what happened last night, and sometimes that’s the best way to make your point,” Girardi said.  The ill feelings lingered Sunday morning, the day after Josh Rupe drilled Russell Martin, who had homered his previous two times up, between the shoulder blades with what may or may not have been a purpose pitch.  Rupe denied Saturday night that there was intent, saying, “I know how to hit a guy when the situation calls for it, and that wasn’t it.”  Martin certainly believed it was, though Girardi, ever diplomatic, stopped short of calling it intentional. “I said it was suspicious,” Girardi said. “I think any person who was to evaluate the situation would say that it was suspicious.”  Girardi was most upset with the location of the pitch — “three inches from his skull” — and said there would have been a different reaction had Rupe hit Martin, say, on the backside. No warnings were issued by the umpires, catching Girardi by surprise, and it will be interesting to see whether Freddy Garcia — or any pitcher following him — takes advantage and tries to retaliate.  Not surprisingly, Girardi deflected questions on that topic, but he did say, “I think it’s important that your players have each other’s backs during a long season.” Then, he added, “As a team, you have to take care of each other.”  When Baltimore Manager Buck Showalter, who said Saturday night that he believed Rupe, was asked about potential retribution, he told reporters: “We’ll deal with it. It’s self-inflicted.”
Russell Martin was hit by a pitch from the Orioles' Josh Rupe on Saturday, and the Yankees think it was suspicious.