O’s Buck odds in ninth — and get away with it

Evidently, Buck Showalter had seen enough Aaron Judge highlights for one series.

Still, the Orioles manager went to extreme measures to avoid Judge in the bottom of the ninth of the Yankees’ 6-4 loss on Sunday in The Bronx.

With Jacoby Ellsbury on third and two outs, Showalter opted to have closer Zach Britton intentionally walk Judge.

Fro m one p e rs pe c t ive, the move made some sense, because Judge tormented the Orioles like no other team this season. He entered Sunday with 11 homers and a 1.688 OPS in 18 games against Baltimore — by far his best numbers against any team.

From some others, it was a head-scratching decision.

It allowed the Yankees to bring the winning run to the plate. And the batter coming to the plate was the red-hot Gary Sanchez.

“Just pick your poison there,” Showalter said.

Britton responded by striking out Sanchez to end the game — and potentially took Showalter off the hook.

“They’re both really good hitters,’’ Showalter said of Judge and Sanchez. “I have confidence in Zach with either one. It came up heads today. Tomorrow it might be tails.”

“It takes one mistake,” Joe Girardi said. “[Britton] didn’t make one.”

Good fortune aside, Showalter declined to elaborate much on why he would risk a gamewinning homer.

“I’m not gonna get into it,’’ the former Yankees manager said. “They’re both really good hitters and a threat. They’re having a big year and gonna have great careers.”

Judge had never faced Britton and Sanchez went into the atbat hitless in three plate appearances, with a pair of strikeouts.

“That’s baseball,’’ Sanchez said through an interpreter of the Orioles’ decision to go after him, rather than Judge. “That’s the way baseball is. It’s not the first time or the last time it will happen.”

Britton made it clear that’s not the way he would have drawn up the inning.

“It’s not something I would have [chosen],’’ said Britton, who admitted he didn’t expect to get the signal to send Judge to first. “Now with the [new] rule, it kind of surprises you for a second. I just figured, ‘ Now I’ve got to get Sanchez.’ I wanted to attack Judge. I liked my chances [against Judge], but it’s not my call.”

Asked whether he understood Showalter’s decision, Britton said: “You’d have to ask him. Like I said, it wasn’t my call. My job is to attack the next guy.”

Showalter expected that reaction from Britton, who has dealt with a forearm strain this season.

“I know Zach wasn’t happy about it,” Showalter said.