‘Fire Aaron Boone’ chants break out at Yankee Stadium after manager’s Clay Holmes decision vs. Guardians
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The Yankees were able to earn a walk-off win against the Guardians on Wednesday, but the fans on hand at Yankee Stadium still weren’t pleased with the team’s effort in its 4-3 win.
And in particular, they seemed frustrated with a key decision that manager Aaron Boone made in the ninth inning.
The game was tied 2-all with two outs in the ninth inning when Boone inserted closer Clay Holmes into the contest. Fans weren’t pleased with the decision given that Holmes had been mired in a mini-slump. He had blown a save against the Guardians on Monday and had allowed four earned runs over his previous four innings pitched in five outings.
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Nonetheless, Boone was confident that Holmes would be able to bounce back. Instead, the closer allowed two hits and a tiebreaking run before getting the final out of the inning. He threw just nine pitches and caused New York to enter the bottom of the ninth trailing.
Holmes’ performance drew the ire of the crowd, and many joined in a “Fire Aaron Boone” chant that broke out in the top of the inning.
Boone was ultimately bailed out by a Willie Calhoun RBI single in the ninth and Jose Trevino’s game-winning single in the 10th.
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And after the game, Boone said there was “zero hesitation” turning to Holmes in that key sport as he defended his decision.
“Obviously, we’ve got to get him to where he’s the Clay we know,” Boone said. “But he’s a lot closer to that than I think the noise.”
Still, the chants still highlighted the increased pressure the Yankees manager is under as the team continues to fall short of expectations.
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General manager Brian Cashman expressed Wednesday that he still believes that the team is running “a championship-caliber operation.”
However, if they continue to toil in last place, that may cause ownership to rethink their leadership after 13 years without a World Series title.