It has been a rough week for Aaron Boone.
The Yankees manager was serenaded with “Fire Boone” chants in the ninth inning of the Yankees’ eventual 4-3 win over the Guardians Wednesday night.
It is the second time in three games the Bronx faithful have turned on Boone, both relating to bullpen decisions that blew up in his face.
On Monday, Boone pulled starter Domingo German with one on and one out in the ninth inning with the Yankees leading 2-0.
Closer Clay Holmes promptly allowed the next four batters to reach base as Cleveland rallied for a 3-2 win.
On Wednesday, Boone turned to Holmes again, this time with the game tied 2-2.
It led to similar results and similar frustration from the fans.
After Ron Marinaccio, who had pitched Tuesday as well, retired five straight batters, Boone removed him from the game with two outs in the ninth in favor of Holmes.
Holmes allowed two soft hits — a double by Myles Straw and a single by Oscar Gonzalez — that turned into the go-ahead run for the Guardians.
Before the Yankees rallied for the win, fans let out their frustration on the manager with a “Boone sucks” chant that morphed into “Fire Boone.”
“Let’s look at what’s going on [with Holmes],” Boone said in defense of the pitching decision. “I mean, the [ball was hit into the] Bermuda Triangle. That’s baseball sometimes.”
Boone was loudly booed on Monday when he walked to the mound to take German out after 8 ⅓ brilliant innings and only 87 pitches thrown.
“I just didn’t want him to be in a situation where he wasn’t gonna do anything but win that game,” Boone said on Monday. “It felt like it was the right decision to do in the moment.”
It comes as the Yankees deal with a spate of injuries that continued in the middle of Wednesday’s ninth-inning catastrophe.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa collided with Harrison Bader on Gonzalez’s bloop single, kneeing Bader in the back of the head in what was the center fielder’s second game of the season after suffering an oblique injury in spring training.
Oswald Peraza then rolled his ankle pinch-running for Anthony Rizzo in the bottom of the ninth.
“Don’t count us out,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said before the game, a plea for patience that the fans ignored. “Don’t give up on us. We got a good group of people player-wise, staff-wise, support-staff-wise. It’s a championship-caliber operation.”