How 2 critical Aaron Boone mistakes cost the Yankees against the Rangers

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 26: Manager Aaron Boone #17 of the New York Yankees looks on before the game against the Oakland Athletics at RingCentral Coliseum on August 26, 2022 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 26: Manager Aaron Boone #17 of the New York Yankees looks on before the game against the Oakland Athletics at RingCentral Coliseum on August 26, 2022 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next
New York Yankees
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 16: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) Michael King #34 of the New York Yankees in action against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium on June 16, 2022 in New York City. The Yankees defeated the Rays 2-1. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

Yankees: Aaron Boone brought in the wrong reliever

After the events that tied the game in the bottom of the eighth,  it was a mostly uneventful ninth inning, as both Tommy Kahnle and Joe Barlow escaped untouched for both teams. However, in the top of the tenth, Aaron Boone called on Michael King to shut down the Rangers.

His stats in the month of June have not been pretty, with a 7.56 ERA and a .351 wOBA. His hard-hit balls ratio jumped from 17% to 37% from May to June, meaning he clearly is not the same. He gave up a home run to Adolis Garcia to lead off the tenth.

The safest option for the Yankees after using their two best relievers lately in Holmes and Kahnle would have been Ron Marinaccio, who has not seen action since June 18 vs the Red Sox. He hasn’t allowed a run in five games this month and would have been a safe option, given the increase in higher leverage use of Marinaccio in high-leverage spots this year.

In extra innings, you have to ride the hot hand. In the YES Network’s pregame show (Yankees regional network), both studio analysts Jack Curry and John Flaherty cited as keys to the game that Marinaccio would be a key factor in the game and that they should give Marinaccio work as he has yet to pitch this week.

It turns out that the keys that the broadcasters gave could have very well impacted the outcome.