Aaron Boone and the New York Yankees are coming off another close defeat as they head for the All-Star break. The Yankees had an amazing start to the season, but the last few weeks were a major struggle as they dropped a significant number of games.
The Yanks defeated the Orioles in the last series, but Game 3 slipped away due to a few defensive mishaps. Despite losing, they remain second in the AL East and are only one game behind the Orioles.
The Bronx Bombers squandered their 5-3 lead at the bottom of the ninth inning. Ryan Mountcastle hit a groundball to Anthony Volpe, which he struggled to get a hold of. The Orioles scored one run, but they took advantage of a fielding mishap from Alex Verdugo.
Verdugo failed to reach out to a flyball that was hit by Cedric Mullens against Clay Holmes. While the Yankees slugger tried to hustle, he fell and let the ball bounce away from him, letting the Orioles score in a walk-off fashion.
In a postgame interview, Aaron Boone opened up about the incident, saying that Verdugo misjudged the ball while fielding.
"He just misread it, simple as that. It's a play we should make but I think he just misjudged it broke hard in not wanting to get beaten in front of him and obviously is carried enough," Boone said.
The Yankees manager continued to discuss Clay Holmes' outing and the team's struggles.
"Clay did his job. I think the one guy he was being careful in there was Rutschman. He wasn't perfect, was a little in and out of the zone but made enough pitches. Let's acknowledge that it's been a rough several weeks here for us," Aaron Boone continued.
Aaron Boone shows concern for Donald Trump amid shooting
Aaron Boone showed concern for Donald Trump after the shooting incident. Boone said it was a scary incident and hoped that Trump was fine after being injured.
“Seeing some of the imagery of it sounds like he’s okay. I mean, that’s scary and terrible and awful, and hopefully he’s okay, and whoever’s involved in that is put away," Boone continued.
The Yankees will take on the Tampa Bay Rays at home after they return from the All-Star break. Aaron Judge and Juan Soto will compete in the All-Star game from the American League.