Yankees manager Aaron Boone ejected for 5th time this season, Rays beat New York 6-4

NEW YORK — Yankees manager Aaron Boone was ejected for the fifth time this season, the most in the Major Leagues, after successfully preventing New York left fielder Alex Verdugo from being ejected during Sunday’s 6-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Boone was ejected by plate umpire Edwin Jiménez before the start of the seventh inning for yelling from the dugout after a collapsed Verdugo was called out on a full-count fastball from Colin Poche that appeared to be low. Verdugo complained repeatedly after the call, which meant the first out in the bottom of the sixth.

“Obviously an emotional time,” Boone said. “You understand the frustration, so you just try to distract yourself in that situation.”

Boone took the field to argue more closely after the ejection. He led the Major Leagues with nine in 2022 and tied with seven last year. He has been ejected 38 times in a managerial career that began in 2018.

With New York trailing 3-0, Verdugo fell behind 0-2, but he worked the count to the limit and took a fastball from Poche, threw his bat away and started down the first base line.

“I saw that ball come right out of my hand. I knew it was low and I actually went to first and I heard Boonie yell and I was like, Wait, what? So I turned around and the umpire said, ‘Yeah, it’s a strike,'” Verdugo said. “I was a little — I don’t know — kind of blown up or got a little emotional. That’s part of the game, man.”

Verdugo went 0-for-4 and is hitless in 19 at-bats and 1 in his last 28, dropping his average to .228. His .143 average as of June 15 is the lowest in the major league among qualified hitters, and he has grounded out to second base 56 times.

“When I’m facing, that’s the best version of myself,” Verdugo said, referring to the opposite field. “That’s when I let the ball travel. That’s when I stay through the ball, stay in it. I think in the beginning it was more of just getting pull-happy and kind of developing bad habits, where my front shoulder would fly out, my hip would kind of fly out toward the first base side. It’s tough. We try not to hit ground balls to the pull side.”

With the bases loaded and two outs in the first inning, Verdugo hit a 102.7 mph line ball off Shane Baz, which first baseman Isaac Paredes caught as he fell to his knees.

“I want to make something happen. I want to help the team. I want to help the guys. I want to get something going. So in that sense, I’ve been pushing a little bit,” Verdugo said. “I felt like the last couple games, I’ve just been getting better in terms of being able to control my ABs a little bit. I’m a guy that when I go out there, I like to see some pitches and I feel like lately it’s been a little bit scary on the first pitch, where I’m like, I’ve got to put this in play or it’s kind of over. So I think for me, it’s just about trusting my eyes, trusting my body, trusting my movements, and then we’re exactly where we need to be.”

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Related Posts