How Yankees’ Aaron Boone Addressed Brutal Miscues Vs. Red Sox
The Red Sox on Friday pulled off a stunning victory in Yankee Stadium, and Yankees fans were left irate over multiple base-running miscues.
Masataka Yoshida was the hero in the ninth inning when he hit a bomb to right field with two outs to up the matchup at three apiece. Ceddanne Rafaela put Boston ahead 5-3 and handed New York its fourth-straight loss and 14th loss in its last 18 games.
The story on the Red Sox side was the never-say-die attitude the team has exhibited throughout the season. On the Yankees side, it was the lack of hustle from Anthony Volpe and DJ LeMahieu that drew the ire of fans.
Defensive miscues hurt Boston in the third inning, but with Volpe on third, LeMahieu was tagged out near second base on an inning-ending double-play. New York manager Aaron Boone told reporters after the game that LeMahieu should have attempted to get into a rundown to keep the play alive. The veteran did not, and Volpe failed to run hard to home and score a run that proved costly.
“We’ve got to play better than that, no question,” Boone said, per MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch. “We certainly understand that and invest a lot in that. We have to play clean baseball, especially when things are hard to come by. We’ve got to be better, period.”
Volpe told reporters postgame that there was “confusion” over whether or not Ben Rice’s hit ball was a foul or not.
“I’ve just got to hustle all the way through there,” Volpe said, per Hoch. “The play was in front of me. I’ve just got to be better.”
There was a missed double play before the Volpe incident where Yankees fans alleged LeMahieu internally gave up and didn’t run hard to first. Ceddanne Rafaela had to spin over a sliding Trent Grisham, and LeMahieu was safe at first. Boone claimed the third baseman was hustling on the play, but New York fans unsurprisingly weren’t willing to give a player who has been a disappointment this season the benefit of the doubt.
The Bronx Bombers will look to rebound when they take on the Red Sox in matinee action. First pitch is scheduled at 1:05 p.m. ET on NESN.