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

NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees manager Aaron Boone was ejected for the major league-high fifth time this season, successfully shielding New York left fielder Alex Verdugo from getting tossed from Sunday’s 6-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.

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

“Obviously an emotional time,” Boone said. “You understand the frustration, so more just trying to be a distraction in that situation.”

Boone came onto the field to argue from a closer distance after the ejection. He led the major leagues with nine in 2022 and tied for the high with seven last year. He has been ejected 38 times in a managerial career that started in 2018.

With New York trailing 3-0, Verdugo fell behind 0-2 before working the count full and taking a fastball from Poche, tossing his bat and starting up the first base line.

“Saw that pitch right out of the hand pretty good. Knew it was low, and I was actually going to first and I heard Boonie yell and I was like: Wait, what? So I turned back and umpire’s like, `Yeah, it’s a strike,’” Verdugo said. “I kind of — I don’t know — kind of blew up or let some emotions out. Part of the game, man.”

Verdugo went 0 for 4 and is hitless in 19 at-bats and 1 for his last 28, dropping his average to .228. His .143 average from June 15 on is last in the major leagues among qualified batters and he has grounded to second base 56 times.

“When I go oppo, that’s the best version of myself,” Verdugo said, referring to the opposite field. ”That’s when I’m letting the ball travel. That’s when I’m staying through the ball, staying inside of it. I think at first it was more of just getting pull happy and kind of just started getting into bad habits where my front shoulder’s been flying out, my hip’s kind of been flying out towards the first base side. It’s tough. We’re not trying to hit groundballs to the pull side.”

With the bases loaded and two outs in the first, Verdugo hit a 102.7 mph liner off Shane Baz that first baseman Isaac Paredes caught while falling 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, yeah, I have been pressing a little bit,” Verdugo said. “I felt like the last few games, it’s just been better in the sense of being able to kind of control my ABs a little bit. I’m a kind of guy that when I go up there I like to see pitches a little bit and I feel like lately it was kind of like a little anxious on the first pitch, where I was like: I’ve got to put this in play or else it’s kind of done. So I think for me it’s just getting back to trusting my eyes, trusting my body, trusting my moves, and we’ll be right where we need to be.”