CC Sabathia gives Yankees what they needed: ‘Never gonna back down’

CC Sabathia called it a “misunderstanding.”

Avisail Garcia said “nothing happened.”

Their odd narratives of what transpired after Sabathia struck out the Rays’ right fielder looking to end the top of the sixth notwithstanding, the two ended up yelling at each other, with the benches clearing and bullpens emptying.

And it may have provided the spark for the Yankees’ 8-3 comeback win over Tampa Bay in The Bronx.

“He keeps us locked in,’’ Aaron Judge said of Sabathia. “And he can fire us up when we need it and we needed it tonight.”

The Yankees trailed 3-1 at the time, a night after their dramatic ninth-inning loss to the Rays.

Sabathia appeared to say something in the direction of home plate, which caught Garcia’s attention.

“I wasn’t talking to him,’’ Sabathia said. “He looked up at me and said something and it was over. I was just yelling out, pumping myself up and he might have taken offense to it. I’m never gonna back down.’’

Sabathia may have been talking to home plate umpire Phil Cuzzi about a call, but what began as the left-hander and Garcia jawing at each other, escalated to Didi Gregorius holding his teammate back as tempers flared.

“It felt like holding a bear right there,’’ Gregorius said with a smile. “I know now what’s it like to have a great encounter against a bear. I even got elbowed a little a bit.’’

Sabathia said he didn’t realize it was the shortstop grabbing him until Gregorius told him about it after the game.

“I didn’t want him to get thrown out of game,’’ Gregorius said. “I tried to hold him back as much as I can.”

Despite being short on specifics, Sabathia acknowledged his recent history against the Rays.

In May, Sabathia nearly hit Austin Meadows with a pitch and could be seen walking off the mound yelling, “I definitely was trying to hit his ass.”

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That came after the Yankees were upset that Yonny Chirinos had plunked Luke Voit and Gary Sanchez during a game at Tampa Bay.

Last September, Sabathia was tossed from a game and ended up serving a five-game suspension to start this season for drilling Jesus Sucre in retaliation for the Rays’ Andrew Kittredge having thrown behind Austin Romine’s head.

“Last year wasn’t my fault,’’ Sabathia said. “It’s two good teams battling for the division. Games are gonna be intense.”

As for what occurred with Garcia: “There’s no love lost.”

“We’re playing for a lot,’’ Aaron Boone said. “Sometimes [Sabathia] runs a little hot, that’s all.”

It took two more innings, but the Yankees took the lead and broke the game open in the eighth, thanks to a homer by Judge and a grand slam by Gregorius.

“I’d like to say they responded [well],’’ Sabathia said. “They were fired up.”

— Additional reporting by Dani Mohr

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