The Houston Astros secured another series victory on Sunday, and Yankees manager Aaron Boone received his fifth ejection of the season for arguing balls and strikes. But Boone told reporters after the game that it didn’t play a part in New York’s 7-1 loss in the Bronx.
“It was the first couple of innings,” he said. “I was on him a lot. That’s over and done with and it is what it is and that isn’t the reason we lost this game.”
At the time of Boone’s ejection in the 3rd inning, the Astros already held a 2-0 lead thanks to a solo shot by Jose Altuve and an RBI double from Christian Walker. After his exit, Houston proceeded to outscore the Yankees 5-1.
New York is floundering with a 20-31 (.392) record in its last 51 games. That win percentage would put them better than only the Chicago White Sox (.364) in the American League if it included the whole season.
But Boone is optimistic about the Yankees’ ability to rebound.
“Obviously, we’re feeling it, and we know we have to be better,” he said. “We know we have a much higher standard for ourselves, and expectations. But at the same time, we’re in control of this. I wholeheartedly believe that we are going to get rolling and turn this thing around. When it does, then you start to really build that next layer of confidence, where guys are kinda feeding off each other. It’s all just talk right now, but that’s how I feel about it. We gotta go do it.”
Boone has now been tossed 44 times since he took over as New York’s manager in 2018, per ESPN. He’s led the Yankees to one World Series appearance.
Meanwhile, their AL rival has been shaky with a 6-10 record since July 24, but the Astros still lead their division at 66-52—though they only hold a 0.5 lead over the surging Seattle Mariners.
The Yankees are third in the AL East, sitting 6.5 games back of the first-place Toronto Blue Jays. They now hold the last Wild Card spot in the American League amid their current slump and need the quick turnaround that Boone knows they're capable of down the stretch.