ST. LOUIS — As a manager with 31 career ejections, Aaron Boone should have a good read on what it takes to get thrown out of a game.

That only added to his anger Sunday, when he was tossed in the top of the third inning for arguing a called strike against DJ LeMahieu during what turned into a 5-1 Yankees loss to the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

With a runner on first and one out, LeMahieu had worked a 3-1 count against Jordan Montgomery before looking at a high changeup for what should have been Ball 4. But home plate umpire Dan Merzel called it a strike, extending the at-bat before LeMahieu popped out.

Gleyber Torres was then at the plate when Merzel gave Boone the hook from the dugout.

“The rope and leash was very short,” Boone said. “I had a real problem with that.

“The sensitivity on that and the quick throwout was brutal. It was ridiculous. You gotta have thicker skin than that. You gotta have a little bit of room to let us say something. We said one thing, [he put his] hand up, [then I was] out. That’s wrong in my opinion, especially coming from what I think’s got a chance to be a really good young umpire. It’s ridiculous.”

Boone, who said he had previously had some “good interactions” with Merzel, indicated that he only had an issue with that one pitch. After he was ejected for the fifth time this season, Boone came onto the field and argued more with Merzel to get his money’s worth.

“It’s a big, big point in that game,” Boone said. “[It should have been] first and second, one out, all of a sudden in an inning where [Montgomery is] throwing a lot of pitches. Maybe it turns [out] a little bit different.”

Watching from his office later in the game, Boone also took issue with the way the Cardinals were able to get reliever Giovanny Gallegos into the game for Montgomery in the seventh inning. He felt that the Cardinals used a PitchCom issue to stall before bringing Gallegos into the game with a runner on second and two outs.

“Felt like some blatant stall stuff going on,” Boone said. “I wish that would have been handled a little differently.”