Yankees skipper Aaron Boone might have blown the first game of their series vs the Rangers because of these managerial mishaps
Throughout his stint as the Yankees manager, Aaron Boone has picked up a lot of heat from Yankees fans due to poor team performance, bad bullpen management, bench/injury management, etc. While some of that can be considered unfair to the 50-year-old Boone, his decisions in the later innings of Friday's game vs the Texas Rangers were confusing and illogical to most fans.
Prior to these events, the Yankees entered the bottom of the eighth inning down 2-1 after Clay Holmes allowed an RBI single to Mitch Garver on a ground ball that found a hole on the left side of the infield.
Although a non-critical error, it is worth noting the following situation was not smart, and also did not actually hurt the Yankee's chances of winning this game:
The Yankees would start the bottom of the eighth on back-to-back singles from CF Isiah Kiner-Falefa and LF Billy McKinney. That would bring up the No. 8 batter Jose Trevino to hit against Rangers right-handed starter Dane Dunning.
With righties Harrison Bader, Josh Donaldson, and Kyle Higashioka on the bench along with switch hitter Oswaldo Cabrera, Boone elected to pinch hit Cabrera, who had just been recalled from Triple-A, for Trevino. Bruce Bochy then countered that by bringing in left-hander John King in relief of Dunning, who threw seven strong innings of 2-run baseball. Boone would then make another move, now pinch-hitting catcher Kyle Higashioka for the switch-hitting Cabrera.
Although Higashioka is a fly-ball hitter and better vs lefties, the issue with that decision is wasting the spot of the versatile Oswaldo Cabrera, who can play every position besides pitcher and catcher. Going into extra innings, that versatility on the bench is so valuable, and should not be wasted as done today.
Although I did disagree with the move, it faired out well, as Higashioka drove in Kiner-Falefa with a Sac-Fly. However, there were two different critical managerial errors that plagued the Yankees in this game.
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.
Yankees: Aaron Boone made the wrong pinch-hitting decision
Onto the home half of the tenth, with D.J. Lemahieu set to start as the runner on second base, Kiner-Falefa, McKinney, and Higashioka were due up needing two runs needed to tie it up. Kiner-Falefa led off with an unfortunate line out to center field. A ball that had an xBA of .370 was hit right to Leody Taveras and was unable to advance Lemahieu to third. Arguably the more critical mistake happened after, as Josh Donaldson stepped up to the plate vs left-hander Will Smith in place of the red-hot left fielder McKinney.
As Donaldson stepped up to the plate, the infamous boo-birds of the Bronx appeared at their loudest, as Donaldson has been ice cold. Slashing at a .127/.200/.413, with 62 wRC+, a .051 BABIP, and -3.4 wRAA (weighted runs above average), and 0 for his last 14 at-bats, he was just not fit for the job, striking out vs Will Smith. But to be completely fair, it is 100 percent on Aaron Boone for not letting the red-hot McKinney hit vs a lefty.
This season, McKinney is 3-5 with an RBI single vs left-handed pitchers. And if you look at Will Smith's delivery, he has a typical over-the-top delivery, with a league-average fastball and slider. With no disrespect to the Rangers closer, he isn't Andrew Miller throwing sidearm, with sweeping sliders that almost no lefty can touch. It is a pitch mix that should be touchable to any Major League batter.
That goes without mentioning that McKinney has been great in his run with the Yankees. Slashing .318/.348./.636 with a .984 OPS, and over 160 wRC+ is way too valuable to be pinch hit for in a situation for an ice-cold Donaldson. McKinney has a hit in all but one game as a Yankee, as he took a walk in that game. It is inexcusable to just sight a Lefty/Lefty matchup as an excuse to pull one of the hottest hitters in baseball.
The use of Lefty/Lefty pinch-hitting scenarios has been something the Yankees have done for most of the Boone era. Although it does make sense, it should not take the place of recent performance and overall ability.
