Girardi: Tough to stop scrap

ALTIMORE — Joe Girardi weighed in on the latest basebrawl, with Bryce Harper and Hunter Strickland fighting on Memorial Day after the Giants flamethrower drilled the Nationals superstar. Harper had blasted two homers off Strickland during the 2014 NLDS. Strickland got suspended six games while Harper got suspended four.

Girardi was asked Tuesday if he thought MLB should do what the NBA does and not allow players to leave the dugout and help their teammates in a fight.

“The only problem, to me, with that is that it’s 1-on-9 as opposed to 5-on-5,” Girardi said. “I guess you could think about it. I don’t see this as something that happens every day that’s out of control. I mean, I guess you could address that. I don’t know how you change it. I mean, I guess you say that no one can leave their position. I don’t know. How are you not going to protect your teammate? They still come off the bench. I mean it’s that instinct that, ‘Hey that’s my guy, I’m going to protect him,’ and I’m going to have a problem if a guy doesn’t do that.”

But when asked what he thought about Buster Posey staying at his position instead of going out to the mound, Girardi responded, “Not my comment.”

Posey had said: “Well, I mean after it happened, I kind of saw Harper point. Next thing you know, he’s going out after him. Those are some big guys tumbling around on the ground. You see Mike Morse, who’s about as big as they come, and he was getting knocked around like a pinball. So it can be a little dangerous to get in there sometimes.”

Posey had dealt with a concussion in April. Girardi would prefer his best players refrain from this kind of activity. But the manager gets that sometimes instinct takes over.

“I sit there and tell players, ‘Don’t slide head first into home plate,’ ‘Don’t slide head first into first base,’ and they get in the midst of a game and it happens,” Girardi said. “It’s just part of it. It’s that instinct that takes over that there’s not much we can do about.”

ELLSbURY GETS AHEAD

Jacoby Ellsbury’s headaches are gone, and he said Tuesday “is the best I’ve felt” since going on the 7-day concussion list.

“You never want to walk off

the field. I probably shouldn’t have stayed in, but I wanted to stay in,” said Ellsbury, who suffered the injury on May 24 when he crashed into the wall on the first pitch of the game but stayed in for the entire first inning. “I mean, you know, you start to feel better through the at bat. But, we did everything right and then realized it’s not the smartest to continue playing.”

There is no timetable for his return, but Joe Girardi said the 33-year-old center fielder did some running and maybe would hit in the cage later Tuesday. It’s possible Ellsbury could be back in the lineup by the weekend, Girardi said. “I think it comes down to how he reacts to the exercise.” Girardi said.

REF GO FOR CARTER

Rob Refsnyder got the start at first base with Chris Carter in a 2-for-28 slump.

Refsnyder went 0-for-3 Tuesday night but did make a slick play in the field, denying Seth Smith of a single.

AVOIDING A SCARE

Didi Gregorius was hit in the left hand by exteammate Richard Bleier during the ninth inning. Gregorius stayed in the game, and precautionary X-rays taken following the final out were negative. It’s unknown if Gregorius will play on Wednesday given there may be some soreness. The Yankees’ 27-year-old shortstop went 1-for-4 with a double and a run scored. He’s hitting .307/.336/.439 in 2017.