Houston’s Hinch ready to protect team from fans

No visiting team expects the outfield at Yankee Stadium to be a friendly environment.

But A.J. Hinch was ready to take action if his outfielders were physically put in harm’s way again.

After right fielder Josh Reddick said he saw water bottles and baseballs being thrown from the stands by angry fans during Game 3 of the ALCS on Tuesday, Hinch was on the lookout to protect his players.

“I will pull the team off the field if we get in that situation again where bottles are being thrown and balls are being thrown and it becomes unruly,” Hinch said Thursday before his Astros won Game 4, 8-3. “There’s other ways to support your home team, and this place does as good a job as anybody to trying to police that while also trying to create an environment that’s all pro Yankees. It would be a very ugly scene for baseball, a very ugly scene for the Yankees, if one of our guys was hit by something from the upper deck. Something tragic could happen and nobody wants that.”

Before Game 4, the Yankees issued a reminder on the big screen that fans who threw objects onto the field would be subject to “ejection and a permanent ban at Yankee Stadium, as well as criminal and civil penalties.”

Fans did not relent verbally against Reddick during Game 4, with chants of “Reddick s--ks” and “Cheryl” (his mother’s name) flooding right field. But there did not appear to be anything physically thrown his way.

Starting pitcher Zack Greinke was also reportedly subject to verbal abuse while warming up in the bullpen. Fans shouted chants at Greinke referring to his battles with social anxiety and depression, according to NJ Advance Media, and others referring to his mother. One fan was ejected by the police, according to the report.

When the Yankees-Astros ALCS matchup was discussed as far back as spring training, the narrative centered on how the Yankees were going to beat Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole.

“We have more guys than JV and Cole but having those two horses is a huge competitive advantage for us going into any series or any game,’’ Hinch said.

Verlander earned a no-decision in Game 2 when he gave up two runs and five hits in 6 2/3 innings. Cole delivered seven shutout innings in Game 3 when he walked a season-high five.